Sharks Escape Late Spartan Rally

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla.  – The University of Tampa women's basketball team ended its three game winniung streak on the road against Nova Southeastern University.

INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Final: Nova Southeastern 66, Tampa 56  
Records: Spartans (13-5, 8-3 SSC), Sharks (12-7, 8-3 SSC)
Location: Taft Center | Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
All-time Series: Tampa leads the all-time series against Nova Southeastern by a 25-14 mark.
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HOW IT HAPPENED:
1st Quarter | Tampa finished the opening quarter with a 21-20 lead after Nova Southeastern took an early lead. The Spartans would shoot 75 percent from the field, with senior Elena de Alfredo leading the charge with six points.

2nd Quarter | Nova Southeastern took a 40-33 lead to the half after outscoring the visiting Spartans 20-12 in the second quarter. The Spartans shot just 33.3 percent from the field and Nova held a 66.7 percent clip. Tampa forced four turnovers in the second.

3rd Quarter | The Sharks extended their lead to 56-44 through three quarters as they held Tampa to their lowest scoring output with just 11 points in the third. 

4th Quarter | Though outscoring Nova Southeastern 12-10, Tampa was unable to overcome the Sharks. UT would pull within seven points with just over two-minutes to play, as the Sharks were able to connect on six free throws in the final minutes to escape with the victory.

INSIDE THE STATS:

• de Alfredo led all Spartans with 15 points, on 5-for-12 shooting with a pair of 3-pointers.
• Junior Faith Sanders was also in double figures with 14 points.
• Griffin Dempsey and de Alfredo led UT with two assists apiece.
• Coming off the bench, Morgan Lumb registered three steals.
• Tampa shot 43.1 percent from the field, as its opponent shot at 53.3 percent. 

BEYOND THE BOXSCORE:

• With the victory, Nova Southeastern took the regular season series over Tampa. 
• Tom Jessee needs just one win to reach 300 for his UT career.

UP NEXT:
UT will travel to Saint Leo University on Saturday for a  2 p.m., matchup. Live stats and a live video webcast will be provided through www.tampaspartans.com.

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