Spartans Come Up Short Against Florida Southern

TAMPA, Fla. - The University of Tampa women's basketball team suffered a tough home loss Wednesday night in a Sunshine State Conference matchup against rival Florida Southern College.

The Mocs scored late in the contest to pull out a 57-55 victory. UT now falls to 13-12 on the season and 6-7 in SSC play. FSC improves to 20-4 overall and 10-4 in conference play.

Ellen Nurmi led the way for the Spartans offensively, as the senior notched 19 points on 5-for-6 shooting from the field and 7-for-9 from the charity stripe.

Juliana Cavallaro also added double figures as the guard scored 12 points. Angela Alvarez led UT on the glass, as the senior hauled in 10 rebounds on the night.

In the first half, the home team grabbed the lead early on with a 6-0 run, but the Mocs would not roll over. The teams headed to the locker room with the score being 24-26 in favor of FSC. Tampa shot 40 percent (10-25) from the field and 2-3 from three-point range.

The Spartans came out swinging in the second half, leading the charge were seniors Ellen Nurmi who lit up the scoreboard with 11 second half points and Angela Alvarez who grabbed seven of her 10 total rebounds in the half. However, Tampa's effort came short when Southern's Mariah Harris hit a pair of free throws to close out the game.

The Spartans will hit the road as they look to rebound against Barry University on Saturday at 2 p.m., in Miami Shores, Fla. Live stats and video will be available through TampaSpartans.com.

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