The Spartans Are 2021 Sunshine State Conference Champions

TAMPA, Fla. – The University of Tampa women's basketball team are Sunshine State Conference Champions. Their undefeated season (7-0) ends with the conference's top award.

INSIDE THE MATCHUP

Final: University of Tampa Spartans 64, Palm Beach Atlantic 50

Records: Tampa (7-0), Palm Beach Atlantic (4-7)

Location: Bob Martinez Athletics Center | Tampa, Fla.

All-Time Series: Tampa leads the all-time series 28-3.

HOW IT HAPPENED

1st QUARTER

The Spartans flexed their muscles early and never looked back. They shot a dominant 69% from the field in the opening quarter. Senior Aliyah Abney (4), Senior Julia Ingram (5), Senior Dori Nagy (4), and Junior Melijah Sullivan (2) were all perfect from the field. Graduate student LaShayla Wright-Ponder also added four points of her own. Sullivan also had three assists, Abney added two, and Sophomore Mya Giusto had two as well.

The Spartans outscored the Sailfish in the paint 14-4 to close the quarter with a convincing 19-7 lead. Score: 19-7 Tampa

2nd QUARTER

The second quarter again belonged to Tampa, with Wright-Ponder leading the way, scoring 6 points, and grabbing four rebounds. Wright-Ponder was quickly on double-double watch as she scored 10 points and six rebounds in the first half. Sullivan and Nagy each added three points in the quarter. Sullivan also had three assists. Score: 35-17

3rd QUARTER

Palm Beach Atlantic opened the quarter with a three-point basket, followed by a pair of free throws and a mid-range jumper for an early 7-0 run to begin the quarter. The third quarter was more a game of back-and-forth, and the Spartans were outscored 17-14 in the quarter, but still ended the period with a double-digit lead. Abney and Freshman Audrey Ramsey hit the Spartans first three-point baskets of the game as four Spartans finished the quarter with three points: Abney, Nagy, Ramsey, and Wright-Ponder. Score: 49-34 Tampa

4th QUARTER

Tampa maintained their double-double digit lead in the fourth quarter and were largely unchallenged. Wright-Ponder finished one rebound shy of the double-double with a 15-9-1 stat line. Nagy and Sullivan led the Spartans in scoring with four points apiece in the quarter. Nagy also had four rebounds. Score: 60-54 Tampa

INSIDE THE STATS

• LaShayla Wright-Ponder led all scorers with a 15-point effort. She finished one rebound shy of the double-double with nine.
• Dori Nagy stuffed the stat line, doing it all and finishing with 14-8-4 with two steals for good measure. She also played the most minutes of any Spartan with 32 off the bench.
• Melijah Sullivan continued to flash her all-around game, scoring nine points, pulling down six rebounds, handing out four assists, and swiping two steals.
• UT outscored PBA 34-20 in the paint.
• UT had 11 second chance points to PBA's four.

BEYOND THE BOX

The Spartans 2021 Conference Championship win is the sixth time Tampa has captured the award. They also won in 2000, 2006, 2007, 2009, and 2016. The Spartans most recent win in 2016 was also against the Panthers, 68-59, on March 06, 2016.  

GAMEDAY MULTIMEDIA: Fans may watch all home games and Sunshine State Conference contests on TampaSpartans.tv. Live stats are also available through TampaStats.com. Follow UT Athletics: @TampaSpartans on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and YouTube.

Text Alerts: UT also offers a free text messaging service that sends text alerts following all Spartan events. To sign up, please register at www.tampaspartans.com.

Front Row: Download the official app of UT Athletics on the Apple or Android store. Look for the Tampa Spartans Front Row app to receive notifications from your favorite Spartan teams. The app is completely free.