Spartans Siege Bucs

TAMPA, Fla.  – The University of Tampa women's basketball team battled the Barry University Buccaneers in a midweek matchup and defeated the Bucs 80-52.

INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Final: Tampa 80, Barry 52  
Records: Spartans (12-4, 7-2 SSC), Bucs (4-13, 2-7 SSC)
Location: Martinez Center | Tampa, Fla.
All-time Series: Tampa leads the all-time series record over the Bucs 46-20.
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HOW IT HAPPENED:
1st Quarter | The Bucs were the first ones on the scoreboard Wednesday evening after a layup. The Spartans retaliated when Junior Griffin Dempsey scored on a deep three point jumper which was quickly followed by a three pointer from senior Elena de Alfredo. Senior Jenny Horvatinovic got in on the three point action, scoring her own, making the Spartans lead by nine points with six and half minutes left in the quarter. Barry scored on a layup but Dempsey struck again with back-to-back three pointers to give the Spartans their largest lead of the quarter, with 15. The Spartans headed into the second quarter leading 25-11.

2nd Quarter | The Bucs hit the scoreboard first with a layup but junior Karma Jeremie followed up with a layup of her own, putting the Spartans back up. The Bucs went on a small run that would close in on the Spartans lead and reduce their advantage to nine points. Horvatinovic scored on a layup assisted by Jeremie that would be one of seven assists she recorded in the first half alone. Teresa Kucera came in off the bench to tally a free throw and a jumper late in the second quarter. The Spartans would lead by as many as 16 heading into halftime. de Alfredo led all Spartans in points in the first half with 12. She was closely followed by Jeremie who tallied 11, as well as seven assists, and four rebounds.

3rd Quarter | Barry jumped out first again in the third quarter when they scored on a layup. But that was immediately followed by a Horvatinovic jumper. Junior Faith Sanders tallied her first three pointer of the night, assisted by Jeremie, to make the score 50-29, Spartan advantage. Dempsey added another three pointer to her stats, as she was assisted by de Alfredo. The Spartan offense was dominant while Barry struggled to close the gap, but did not let up, as they continued to score. After a free throw by the Bucs, both teams remained scoreless to end the quarter at a score of 60-44.  

4th Quarter | Jeremie scored first for the Spartans in the fourth quarter on a layup. Sanders scored on a layup that was followed by a three point shot from de Alfredo which would put the Spartans up by 21 with five minutes left in the game. Jeremie scored again on a jumper that would make her performance tonight a personal best. Freshman Rachel Warden would record her first points of the night on a deep three pointer that would put the Spartans up by as many as 27 with two minutes left in the game. The Spartans offense was too hot for Bucs as Tampa went on to win 80-52.        

INSIDE THE STATS:

• de Alfredo was the leading point scorer with 24 points. 
• Jeremie was the second leading point scorer with 18. 
• As a team, the Spartans shot 51.7 percent from the field.

BEYOND THE BOXSCORE:

• Jeremie set a new career high for points with 18. 
• The Spartans have not dropped a game to the Bucs since the 2012-13 season.

UP NEXT:
UT will travel to Palm Beach Atlantic University on Saturday January 21 for a 2:00 pm matchup. Live stats and a live video webcast will be provided through www.tampaspartans.com.

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