Spartans Conquer Marauders in Thanksgiving Classic

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.  – The Spartans opened up the Eckerd College Thanksgiving Classic against the Millersville Marauders and won the competition by a 23 point advantage.    

INSIDE THE MATCHUP:

Final: Tampa 64, Millersville 41

Records: Spartans (3-2), Marauder (2-3)
Location: McArthur Center | St. Petersburg, Fla.
All-time Series: This was the first competition between the Marauders and the Spartans, and UT now leads the all-time series 1-0.   
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HOW IT HAPPENED:

1st Quarter | The Marauders were on the board first with two back-to-back layups. A foul on Millersville sent junior Faith Sanders to the line to shoot two. Sanders made both free throws to put the Spartans on the board. Following Sanders' free throws, senior Elena deAlfredo gave UT its first lead with a three point jumper. A three point shot by junior Morgan Lumb, assisted by deAlfredo would put the Spartans up 14-11 with five minutes left in the first quarter. The Spartan defense tallied six steals in the first quarter alone. Junior Karma Jeremie and senior deAlfredo both contributed six points in the opening stanza. UT lead Millersville 20-17 heading into the second quarter.  

2nd Quarter | Millersville was on the board first again with a two point jumper. This shot would cut the UT lead to only a one point advantage. But a jumper by Lumb sparked the Spartans offense which was followed by a deAlfredo three point jumper and then a Lumb layup. Sanders committed her second steal and scored a layup to make the score 31-24 with 3:42 left on the clock. The Spartan defense in the first half was lead by Jeremie who tallied four steals. UT lead 36-26 heading into halftime.  

3rd Quarter | After the halftime break, Jeremie scored first with a layup assisted by senior Jenny Horvatinovic. The Spartans and the Marauders played tough defense as they both remained scoreless for nearly three minutes of the third quarter. Lumb sunk a three pointer to make the score 43-28 with five minutes left on the clock. The Marauders struggled stopping Tampa's offensive rhythm as the Spartans lead by as many as 20 with two minutes left in the quarter. A two point jumper and a layup by the Marauders would decrease the Spartans lead to 51-35 heading into the final quarter. 

4th Quarter | Both teams remained scoreless for the first two and half minutes to open the fourth quarter. Horvatinovic was on the board first for the Spartans with a two point jumper. Jeremie had back-to-back layups to make the score 60-39 with four minutes left in the game. Freshman Rachel Warden tallied her first points of the game with a layup to increase the Spartans lead to 23 points. Warden would score again on a layup assisted by junior Griffin Dempsey to solidify the UT win 64-41. 

INSIDE THE STATS:

• Junior Jeremie and senior deAlfredo led all Spartans with 17 points each. 
• Lumb was the second leading point scorer with 12, followed by Sanders who had 10.
• The Spartans shot 49 percent from the field.
• As a team, the Spartans recorded 12 steals and 37 rebounds.  

BEYOND THE BOXSCORE:

• Four Spartans scored in double figures.
• This is the fifth consecutive game deAlfredo has scored in double figures and the third consecutive game for Jeremie. 

UP NEXT:

UT will play Texas A&M International Saturday at 1:00 pm. Live stats and a live video webcast will be provided through www.tampaspartans.com

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