Women’s Basketball Selected To Finish Second In SSC Poll

MELBOURNE, Fla. - Sunshine State Conference women's basketball coaches selected the University of Tampa to finish second in the league's preseason poll. The Spartans are just behind the defending SSC champs Nova Southeastern, who earned just two more points more than Tampa. Nova garnered five first-place votes, with Tampa receiving three, and Barry receiving the final vote.

Last season Tampa finished fifth in the conference, as they went 17-11 overall and 9-7 in conference play. In the SSC tournament, the Spartans defeated Florida Tech in the first round before falling to Nova Southeastern in the semifinals.

UT has eight players returning this year, including seniors Juliana Cavallaro, Ellen Nurmi, and Taylor McVey. Cavallaro paced the Spartans last season, as she averaged 15.8 points and 5.9 rebounds per game, leading the team in both categories. Cavallaro earned her way to first team All-SSC and second team Daktronics All-South Region. She also finished 25th in the NCAA with a .415 3-point FG percentage.

Nurmi was the team's third-leading scorer as she also averaged double figures with 10.3 points per game and she led the team with 3.6 assists per game. McVey was tied with Cavallaro in rebounds per game, as she also averaged 5.9 to go along with 6.1 points per game.

The Spartans will start their season on November 13th and 14th, as they host the Spartan Challenge Tournament. UT will face off against West Florida and Union.

Tampa opens conference play on November 18th when they host the Florida Tech Panthers.

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