Sheena Walton Leads Tampa to Victory

TURLOCK, Calif. - A strong effort by All-American Sheena Walton helped The University of Tampa (1-1) women's basketball team to its first victory, a 75-64 win over host Cal State-Stanislaus (0-2) in the final game of the Eva Schicke Memorial Classic.

A slow start for the Spartans in the first half allowed the Warriors to lead by as many as six points. Trailing 23-17 with 7:51 remaining in the half, UT went on a 16-0 run to swing the momentum in their favor with a 10 point advantage. Tampa held on to the lead to take a 36-28 lead to the half.

The Spartans maintained the lead in the second half, though the Warriors made it a two possession game as they trimmed the Spartan lead to 55-49 with 8:17 remaining in the contest. A pair of free throws by both DeShaydia Mackey and Hailee Sullivan gave UT another double figure lead, which was enough to keep the contest out of reach.

Walton notched her first double-double of the young season as she led Tampa with a career high 31 points and 11 rebounds, which both represented team highs. In the first 30-plus point effort of her career, Walton shot 11-17 from the field and 9-13 from the free-throw line. She also had three blocks.

DeShaydia Mackey and Hailee Sullivan added 11 apiece as seven of Mackey's 11 came from the free-throw line. Sullivan, who gave the Spartans a lift off the bench, was 4-5 from the field in 27 minutes of play.

Tampa capitalized on a 52.3 percent shooting effort as the Spartan defense held the Warriors to a 33.9 clip. Tampa also shot 73.7 percent from the free throw line while connecting on just one three-pointer.

UT returns home, where they will play their home opener on Tuesday against Ohio Valley University. The game is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.