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Spartans Conquer Argonauts In Season Opener
November 13, 2015

Spartans Conquer Argonauts In Season Opener

TAMPA, Fla. – The 20th ranked University of Tampa women's basketball team used a strong shooting performance to defeat the University of West Florida. The Spartans shot 55.2 percent (32-58), as they cruised to a 77-52 victory.

Through the first quarter and a half the two teams played back and forth basketball as the biggest lead was just seven points a minute into the second half. At the 7:33 mark, senior Taylor McVey scored on a lay-up which started the Spartans 17-4 run to end the first half. As a team the Spartans shot 63.3% (19-30) from the field in the opening stanza.

In the third quarter, the Spartans offense cooled down, as they were outscored by the Argonauts 19-15. Tampa ramped up their defense in the fourth quarter, as they limited West Florida to just seven points. UWF was also held to just 29% shooting (9-31) in the second half of play.

Senior Juliana Cavallaro paced UT, as she scored 21 points to go along with six rebounds, and five assists. Newcomer Elena de Alfredo started off her Spartan career strong, as the junior racked up 17 points and five rebounds.

McVey and Jenny Horvatinovic also scored in double figures as they each picked up 12 points, while seniorEllen Nurmi led the team with six assists.

As a team, Tampa forced 17 West Florida turnovers, which included nine steals. The Spartans also collected 22 assists and 34 rebounds on the night.

UT will be back in action again tomorrow night, as they will face off against the 13th ranked Union University Bulldogs. The bulldogs are coming of a 76-68 overtime victory over Rollins.

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