Spartans Back on Track With Blowout Win Over Barry

TAMPA, Fla. - The University of Tampa women's basketball team defeated the Barry Buccaneers in the 17-point contest.

Final: No. 15 Tampa Spartans 53, Barry Buccaneers 70

Records: University of Tampa (22-5, SSC 13-3), Barry University (13-6, SSC 10-5)

Location: Bob Martinez Athletic Center || Tampa, Fla. 

All-Time Series: The Spartans overthrow the Bucs in overall series wins 52-25.

HOW IT HAPPENED 

First Quarter: The first quarter opened with the Buccaneers scoring first but Kayla Bonilla talks back, scoring the first two-pointer for the Spartans. There was a total percentage of 100% free throws and 54.5% field goals. LaShayla Wright-Ponder took the lead in 8 points being scored and Bonilla not too far behind her with 7 points. Tampa was consistent, only letting Barry score 9-points. || Score: 17-9 Tampa

Second Quarter: Throughout the quarter, the Bucs slowly started to gain momentum to close the gap with the Spartans. Dori Nagy and Mya Giusto both played 10 minutes each to help their team score a total of seven points and made 5-8 free throws. With two minutes and 11 seconds left in the quarter, there was an eight-point gap, showing the Bucs are going to fight to stay in the game. Despite the Bucs best efforts, their comeback was a little too late for this quarter. || Score: 33-27 Tampa

Third Quarter: The third quarter opened with Aliyah Abney making a layup to help distance the gap. Nagy , Abney, and Melijah Sullivan are the only players to score in the quarter, totaling to a score of 18 points. Nagy was able to complete four out of the five free-throw chances. For two minutes, the Spartans put a halt to the Bucs while the Spartans took advantage and added 6 points to the scoreboard. II Score 51-40 Tampa

Fourth Quarter: For a little over two minutes, the Bucs could not get through to the Spartans defense. In the quarter, Wright-Ponder had a total of 6 rebounds, which was the highest number of rebounds for any quarter played in this game. Giusto made 4-4 free throws while her teammate, Abney scored the most points from the Spartans. II Final: 70-53 Tampa

INSIDE THE STATS 

• Wright-Ponder and Abney both scored 16 points
• Wright-Ponder led the Spartans in rebounds with 16; season-high

BEYOND THE BOX 

• Wright-Ponder; seventh double-double of the season

UP NEXT: The Spartans head to Winter Park, Fla to take on Rollins College on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m.

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.