Spartans Fall to No. 13 Ranked Mocs

TAMPA, Fla. - The University of Tampa women's basketball team battled against No. 13 Florida Southern, but fell short on Wednesday night. 

INSIDE THE MATCHUP: 
Final Score: No. 13 Florida Southern 59, Tampa 44
Records: University of Tampa Spartans (14-6, 8-4 SSC), Florida Southern University (18-1, 11-0 SSC)
Location: Bob Martinez Athletics Center || Tampa, Fla.
All-Time Series: Tampa trails 62-37; Florida Southern has won five straight matchups.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

1st Quarter | Florida Southern's Julia Jenike hit a three-point jumper to begin the game, but University of Tampa's Emily Eshoo handed it back with a three with seven minutes remaining. After the first timeout of the game by UT, Eshoo nailed another three-pointer. Julia McClure tallied a layup, followed by Dori Nagy putting up four points for UT. Staja Tyghter dominated the rims for the Spartans with three defensive rebounds. 

2nd Quarter | Nagy recorded UT's first basket of the quarter, while she secured four huge rebounds for the Spartans. Florida Southern's Camille Giardina  logged two three-pointers and a jumper to lead the Moccasins' scoring with 12 points. FSC's leading scorer also added a steal, a rebound, and an assist. The Spartans' Kris Nelson went 2-for-2 from the line, leading the quarter in free throws. The Mocs never saw the charity stripe.

3rd Quarter | Out of the locker-room, Lauren Kotey came alive for the Spartans putting up four points, one rebound, one assist, and one steal. Nagyadded five more points in the quarter, one steal, and secured another rebound. Giardina dominated the court again for the Mocs with 11 points, including a buzzer beater three. UT led the quarter in FG% shooting 4-of-8, compared to the Mocs' 7-of-15. Florida Southern notched 18 points off of turnovers, compared to UT's four points.  

4th Quarter | In the fourth quarter, Eshoo tacked on five more points including another three-pointer. Nagy led the team in scoring with 12 points as well as recording double-digit scoring for the 7th time in the last 10 games. As a recap, UT shot 50% from the three, tallied 28 rebounds, and shot 56% from the free throw line on the night. 

INSIDE THE STATS:

• Nagy has scored in double-digits in 13 of their last 15 games.
• Eshoo has hit at least one-three pointer in 16-of-19 games.

BEYOND THE BOX:

• This was the 9th game this season Eshoo has hit multiple three-pointers in a game. 
• The Spartans have only lost twice from home this season with a record of 9-2 now.

UP NEXT: The University of Tampa will host Embry-Riddle on Saturday afternoon, tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m. at the Martinez Center.  

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