Davis and Rodriguez combine for 31 in Huge Road Win Over Barry

Miami Shores, Fla. – The University of Tampa Women's Basketball team was back on the road this evening as they traveled to Barry University. The Spartans currently sit two games back of first place in the SSC standings and knew they needed to handle business on the road before coming home. With this contest featuring the two leading scorers in the Sunshine State Conference (Jennings - Barry, Piller - Tampa), fans knew they were in for a fast paced high scoring matchup. 

INSIDE THE MATCHUP:

Final Score: #24 Tampa 69, Barry 62

Records: #24 Tampa 16-4 (8-2 SSC), Barry 12-6 (5-5 SSC)

Location: Health & Sports Center I Miami Shores, Fla. 

All-time series: This was the 84th all-time meeting between these two programs. Tampa now leads the series 59-25 with tonight's victory. 

HOW IT HAPPENED: 

FIRST HALF: This contest started out fast with Barry hitting a three on their first possession of the game. Audrey Ramsey got the Spartans on the board with a nice floater after driving the lane. Barry hit another three in the opening minutes but after both teams traded finishes at the rim, the Buccaneers led 10-6 after the first five minutes. Sariana Rodrguez and Zoe Piller both hit tough lays through contact to help Tampa close the gap but the Spartans were in need of a spark. Kath Van Bennekom would pack a punch off the bench as she made an immediate impact. The Dutch International hit a three to pull Tampa within one before recording two steals, going coast to coast on one of them for a bucket. Kath Van Bennekom also dished out a nice assist to Vivian Jende for a layup and the first Tampa lead of the game at 15-14. Audrey Ramsey hit a pair of free throws to give Tampa a 17-14 lead at the end of the first quarter. The second quarter did not start in favor of the Spartans. Barry opened the quarter with a 7-0 run by hitting more contested threes and took a 21-17 lead. However, Tampa answered in an enormous way, going on their own 14-0 to retake the lead and extend it to double-digits. Olivia Davis knocked down multiple threes and the Spartans played lockdown defense for this run of over five minutes. With two minutes remaining Barry re-found their offense and were able to dig themselves out of a ten point hole and make this contest a two point game. 

Score: #24 Tampa 31, Barry 29

SECOND HALF: The second half started with the same pace and intensity as both teams traded baskets for the first few minutes. Barry got on the board first and tied the game up at 31 but with the score later tied at 35, they went on their first big run of the half. Over the course of four minutes, the Spartans could not get anything to fall and quickly were on the receiving end of a 8-0 run. An Olivia Davis free throw put an end to the Tampa drought but with under two minutes, Spartans were still down 45-38. After some back and forth in the final minute, Sariana Rodriguez found her way to the line for a three point play after a tough lay through contact. This helped Tampa close the gap to just six heading into the final quarter of play. Down 48-42 with ten minutes left, the Spartans knew they had zero time to waste. Zoe Piller got right to work for the Spartans by hitting a turnaround lay on the lower block to cut the lead to four. Olivia Davis on the next possession was able to find her way to the line for two huge free throws to cut the lead to 48-46 Barry. Both teams traded baskets over the course of several hard fought minutes but with six minutes to go the Barry lead was back up to seven. The Spartans once again answered with Sariana Rodriguez and Zoe Piller hitting back to back layups to pull the game to 57-55. Down by two with three minutes left in the game, Zoe Piller finished another tough shot at the rim to tie the game up at 57. The Spartans continued to get stops and after Audrey Ramsey floater, Tampa had their first lead since early in the third quarter. With two minutes on the clock, Kath Van Bennekom forced a Barry turnover that led to an easy Zoe Piller layup and the Spartans led 61-57 with a minute and half left. Kath Van Bennekom put the nail in the coffin with a nice one handed lay fading away from the basket to put the Spartans up seven. Multiple Spartans went on to hit the free throws needed to close out this contest and head back home with a win. 

Final: #24 Tampa 69, Barry 62

INSIDE THE STATS:

• All eight Spartans who played recorded a made basket

• Spartans as a team shot the ball with elite efficiency, finishing with a 48.0% 

• Kath Van Bennekom recorded 4 total steals (ties Sariana Rodriguez for team high this season)

UP NEXT: The Spartans will head back home for a weekend matchup with St. Leo. This contest is scheduled for Saturday, January 25, with tip-off at 4:00pm. This day is also Tampa Bay's Gasparilla parade, fans can go to https://www.heraldtribune.com/story/news/2024/01/22/gasparilla-guide-january-pirate-festival-tampa-florida/72309312007/ for more information on street closures and how to get to the Bob Martinez Center.  

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