Mocs Stun No. 15 Spartans to Split Regular Season Series

LAKELAND, Fla. - The University of Tampa women's basketball team suffered a double-figure loss to the Florida Southern Moccasins on Wednesday.

Final: No. 15 Tampa Spartans 41 Florida Southern Moccasins 66

Records: University of Tampa (21-5, SSC 12-3), Florida Southern College (14-8, SSC 12-4)

Location: Streamline Sale Arena  || Lakeland, Fla. 

All-Time Series: The Spartans trail the Mocs in overall series wins 40-64.

HOW IT HAPPENED 

First Quarter: The first quarter opened with the Spartans on offense, with Lashayla Wright-Ponder scoring the first points of the game. The defensive battle between the two teams started early, with the Spartans keeping the Mocs offense tame for the early minutes. About halfway into the quarter, the Spartans found themselves trailing by four points. Melijah Sullivan found the back of the net near the five-minute mark to cut into the Mocs' lead. With just over a minute left, the Spartans were trailing by six. The Mocs' offensive surge near the end of the quarter put them on top of the Spartans headed into the second quarter. || Score: 17-11 Florida Southern

Second Quarter: The second quarter began with the Spartans and the Mocs battling on the defensive side of the ball. With just over eight minutes left in the half, the Spartans found themselves in an eleven-point deficit. Aliyah Abney closed the point gap to eight near the halfway point of the quarter. The Spartans defense held the Mocs scoreless for over four minutes, and the offense went on a 7-0 scoring run near the end of the quarter. Wright-Ponder scored a layup with just over two minutes left, cutting the Mocs' lead to six points. Despite their best efforts, the Spartans comeback was a little too late for this quarter. || Score: 30-22 Florida Southern

Third Quarter: The third quarter opened with Sullivan shooting two free throws off a penalty on Florida Southern. Three minutes into the quarter, the Spartans were trailing the Mocs by eight. points. With a few different scoring drives by Dori Nagy, the Spartans offense began to find rhythm. Despite their comeback efforts, the Spartans could not overcome the Mocs. II Score 50-31 Florida Southern

Fourth Quarter: The fourth quarter began with both teams keeping each other off the scoreboard for a while. The Mocs offense continued to score, giving the Spartans defense a challenge. Ultimately, the Spartans comeback was too little too late.  II Final: 66-41 Florida Southern

INSIDE THE STATS 

• Wright-Ponder scored a team-leading 12 points
• Abney lead the Spartans in rebounds with 12
• Bonilla lead the Spartans in playing time, recording 38 minutes

BEYOND THE BOX 

• UT continues to sit atop the SSC Conference
• Tampa leads the conference in rebounds

UP NEXT: The Spartans return home to take on Barry University on Saturday at 2:00 p.m.

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