Spartans Shake Sharks for Season Sweep

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - The University of Tampa women's basketball team recorded its 12th straight victory on the road vs. No. 6 Nova Southeastern University Saturday afternoon. The final score of 67-50 moved Tampa atop the Sunshine State Conference with a record of 13-2 and overall record of 20-5, while No. 6 Nova Southeastern sits at 11-3 in the conference and 21-3 overall.

The atmosphere was one to notice as the game featured a battle between the top two teams in the conference, and top three in the south region. The Spartans came out scoring the first basket of the game and looked to be poised early on. The two teams traded points for the majority of the first half, with the Sharks holding slight advantages. Strong defense kept Tampa within striking distance after Nova looked to be in a decent offensive rhythm. Spartans entered the half down one, as Juliana Cavallaro led all scorers with 10 points at the end of the period.

Tampa started the second round of action with a 7-0 run, eventually forcing nine Shark turnovers, shooting 50 percent from the field and holding Nova to 21.4 percent shooting from the field. UT's defensive dominance allowed the Shark's post players to be contained and kept their leading scorer, Taylor Buie, scoreless.

The Spartans notably received a great offensive and defensive surge from the bench with smart hustle plays by Aisha Rodney and Keke Jones.

Cavallaro finished the contest with a game-high 21 points, while Ellen Nurmi and Illyssa Vivo registered 10 points apiece. Rodney and Shamika Williams recorded nine points each in addition to Williams' 10 rebounds.

When asked what the keys for today's victory were, coach Tom Jessee said, "Defense, they're an offensive juggernaut, tremendously offensive team and we knew we had to defend. They have great offensive players all over the floor so we had to decide to buckle down on defense and I thought that was the difference. Offensively we executed okay in the half court set, tried to take away their transition, they like to run the ball, their great at it but you have to stop them on the defensive side and make it a half-court game."

Tampa is no stranger to winning streaks, last season they started off 10-0 and in the 2010-11 season they went on a 12 game winning streak in the middle of the season.

Jessee was modest when asked about the significance of the teams' 12th straight victory; "We don't look at it as 12 straight, we look at it as 1-0, we've been 1-0, 12 times", said Jessee.

The Spartans will host its final game of the season Wednesday evening against rival Florida Southern College. The team is looking for the season sweep against the Mocs, after defeating them 76-62 in January. UT trails the all-time series 33-54 versus Florida Southern. The game is also senior night, as Tampa will say goodbye to four impactful upperclassmen; Williams, Vivo, Jones and Sadie Oyer.

Tickets are available at the gate for $5. Children 12-and-under will be admitted free. UT faculty, staff and students are admitted free when displaying a valid Spartan ID card.

UT will offer live stats and a webcast for the match through TampaSpartans.tv.

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