Spectacular Comeback Effort Falls Just Short

CLEVELAND, Miss. - The University of Tampa women's basketball team had its season ended Saturday night, dropping a heartbreaking 77-74 decision to Ouachita Baptist in the semifinals of the NCAA South Regional. The Spartans finish the season with a program-best 26-6 record.

The loss snapped UT's win streak at 13 - the new mark for most consecutive victories by a Spartan squad.

It appeared that Tampa's fate was sealed early on as the Spartans fell behind by as much as 21 in the first half. OBU shot 46.9 percent from the field in the first stanza, including hitting six of nine three-point baskets.

The Tigers also took advantage of 10 turnovers by UT in the period, scoring 13 points off the Spartan giveaways.

Ouachita Baptist enjoyed a 45-27 lead at the half.

It seemed that the Tigers were going to enjoy an easy victory, pushing the lead out to 24 with 12:26 remaining in the contest.

But the Spartans would not go down without a fight.

Tampa rolled off a 21-2 run in the next six minutes to pull within five with just over six minutes left in the contest. The scoring run was aided by key treys from Gianna Messina, Catriana Messina and Hailee Sullivan.

Another shot from beyond the arc from Sullivan with 2:13 remaining allowed the Spartans to pull within one. Sullivan and Tiara Cook both had baskets down the stretch that pulled Tampa back to that same margin, but UT was never able to take the lead.

The Spartans had the last possession, but Gianna Messina's three-point attempt at the buzzer just missed, allowing Ouachita Baptist to secure the victory.

Cook led the Spartans in scoring, establishing a new career high with 24 points in the effort. She also blocked four Tiger shots.

Sullivan finished her Tampa career with 14 points, including four threes. Gianna Messina rounded out the double-figure scorers with 11 points. Caitlyn Mitryk led UT with eight rebounds while Catriana Messina set a new career mark with seven assists.

Tampa graduates just three seniors - Sullivan, Kym Taylor and Whitney Porter - and will return four starters next season as it attempts to defend the regular season and tournament Sunshine State Conference titles.