Spartans Stump Sharks in SSC Opener

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla.-The No. 9 University of Tampa women's basketball team defeated No. 4 Nova Southeastern University in the first Sunshine State Conference matchup of the season on Saturday afternoon by a final score of 76-75.

The Spartans improve to 6-1, 1-0 in SSC play, while the Sharks fall to 5-2, 0-1 in conference.

Despite starting off the second half at a five-point deficit, heavy fouling by Nova gave Tampa the chance to claim the victory as they were already in bonus by the 10th minute. SSC Player of the Week Juliana Cavallaro made the final basket of the matchup to secure the Spartans' first conference win of the season.

The contest was hard-fought from the start as the largest lead by either team was a mere five points in the first half. Candace Martino led the Spartans' scoring in the first half with 10 points on the board. Taylor McVey and Karma Jeremie followed behind shortly with eight and seven, respectively. Vanessa Sylvain was the defensive spark for the squad as she captured five rebounds to round out the first half of play.

Cavallaro paved the way for the Spartans on both sides of the court, posting 17 points and six rebounds. Martino put an additional 14 points on the board while McVey and Ellen Nurmi also hit double-digits with 12 and 10, respectively.

The Sharks' Jasmine Wilkins led the squad tallying 21 points and five rebounds. Monaye Merrit notched 18 points with seven rebounds in the matchup. Despite the strong numbers posted by the Sharks, the Spartans remained victorious.

The Spartans return to action on Dec. 15 at 5:30 p.m. to host University of the Sciences.

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