Spartans Defeat Panthers to Win Third Straight

TAMPA, Fla. - The University of Tampa women's basketball team employed team basketball assisting on 16 of 25 baskets and played tight defense to win their third game in a row.

INSIDE THE MATCHUP:

Final Score: Tampa 65, Florida Tech 52

Records: University of Tampa Spartans (17-6, 11-4 SSC), Florida Tech Panthers (7-15, 3-11 SSC)

Location: Martinez Athletics Center || Tampa, Fla.

All-Time Series: Tampa owns the series 40-35 and the Spartans are on a three-game winning streak. UT is 26-13 against Tech at the Martinez Athletics Center.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

1st Quarter | The Spartans outpaced the Panthers in the first quarter to take a 14 to 12 lead. The game was tied on four separate occasions and last tied at 10-10 with 3:59 in the quarter. Lauren Kotey led the Tampa with 6 points (3-3) and was a key factor on working the ball inside. The Spartans displayed great team-ball assisting on 5 of 7 made baskets. All 14 of Tampa's points came from within the paint and both teams failed to convert from outside the arc.

2nd Quarter | Heading into the half UT trailed by 2 down 32 to 30. The Spartans were back and forth again with 6 lead changes in the quarter. Gracie Doane made a contested three for the Panthers with 5:37 left in the quarter to give Florida Tech a 24-22 lead. Tech extended the lead to four which was tied for the largest of the half (both teams). Julia Ingram answered back with her third made three of the quarter to tie the game at 28 with 3:24 remaining. No player in the game reached double-digit scoring in the half. Tampa had 7 different players score and Florida Tech had 8. Both teams had 14 total rebounds in the half (12 defensive and 2 offensive).

3rd Quarter | In a contested quarter Tampa reclaimed a 3 point lead to go up 43 to 40. Tampa outscored Florida Tech 13 to 8 in the quarter and held the Panthers to only 3 made field goals in the quarter.

4th Quarter | Tampa jumped out to a 7 point lead with 8:21 remaining behind a Staja Tyghter top-of-the-key three-pointer, forcing a Florida Tech time-out. The Spartans held the lead all quarter outscoring the Panthers 22-12, winning the game 65-52. The Spartans shot an impressive 53% from the field (25-47) compared to 39% for the Panthers (21-54). November Morton was the only Florida Tech player to score in double-figures with 11 points.

INSIDE THE STATS:

• Staja Tyghter: recorded her eighth double-double in a 19 point 11 rebound effort.

• Dori Nagy: recorded her fourth straight double-digit performance with 13 points on 3-6 shooting (7-8 ft). She also grabbed 9 rebounds and dished out 5 assists.

BEYOND THE BOX:

• Tyghter, a senior from Orlando, has scored in double-figures in 21 of 23 games and played 40 plus minutes in 3 consecutive games.

• Spartans improve to 11-2 (84.6%) at home and have made the Martinez Center a fortress.

UP NEXT: The Spartans will try to secure another victory away on Wednesday, February 13 as they are set to face Rollins College at 5:30pm.

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