Tampa Women's Basketball Ranked No. 11 to Enter Season
LILBURN, Ga. - The University of Tampa will begin the 2021-22 season at No. 11 in the nation, according to the Women's Basketball Coaches Association. The ranking is a program-best for UT in a preseason poll.
Also tabbed s the preseason favorite to win the Sunshine State Conference, head coach Tom Jessee returns four starters from last season's team that finished at a perfect 7-0.
Reigning SSC Player of the Year Melijah Sullivan highlights a long list of decorated Spartan returners, as the junior from Bartow, Fla., led all Spartans at 15.9 points per game. Shooting 60.3 percent from the floor, Sullivan also averaged 6.7 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game.
Fellow first-team all-SSC performer LaShayla Wright-Ponder also returns, as the graduate post player averaged 13.2 points and 7.5 rebounds per contest last season.
Dori Nagy also averaged double figures last season, coming in at 13.5 points per game. She led all UT players with 9.5 rebounds per game. Aliyah Abney turned in 9.1 points per game last season, with the guard leading the team with 2.6 steals per game.
This marks the fifth time in program history for Tampa in the preseason rankings, with No. 11 being the highest. UT was previously No. 20 in the 2015-16 opening poll. The Spartans have now been ranked a total of 44 weeks.
The Spartans travel to Billings, Mont., for the DII Tip-Off Classic, where they open against Seton Hill on Friday at 6:45 p.m. UT then meets Montevallo on Saturday at 2:15 p.m., and concludes the trip with a meeting against top-ranked Lubbock Christian on Sunday at 5:15 p.m.