No. 23 Tampa Dominates No. 18 Nova For Big SSC Win

Tampa, Fla. – The University of Tampa Women's Basketball team took the floor this evening for a matchup that featured two Top-25 teams. The #23 Spartans played host to #18 ranked Sharks of Nova Southeastern. After dropping the first game of this series on the road to Nova the Spartans were motivated to get their revenge. With only five games remaining (Including this contest) in the regular season and still only one game out of the top spot in the Sunshine State Conference, Tampa still controls their own destiny. 

INSIDE THE MATCHUP:

Final Score: #23 Tampa 69, #18 Nova Southeastern 52

Records: #23 Tampa 20-4 (12-2 SSC), #18 Nova Southeastern 17-4 (10-3 SSC)

Location: Bob Martinez Center l Tampa, Fla.

All-time series: This was the 55th meeting all-time between these two programs, Tampa extends the series lead to 35-19.

HOW IT HAPPENED: 

FIRST HALF: To start this highly anticipated SSC matchup, Tampa played near perfect defense. They got a stop on Nova's opening possession and Marissa McDonald rejected their second attempt at points. Tampa was unable to take advantage of their strong defensive start until Olivia Davis drilled a three from the wing. The three ball was popular in the first minutes of the game, after four minutes of play the only points of the game had come via a three. Zoe Piller broke the chain of three pointers with back to back finishes on the lower blocks and the Tampa defense forced four straight misses from the Sharks. Sariana Rodriguez gave the Spartans their first lead of the game at 9-8 with a strong drive to the basket but Nova answered right back with a transition layup to retake the lead. Vivian Jende gave the lead back to Tampa with a smooth left handed finish off an Audrey Ramsey feed and Sariana Rodriguez continued to hit shots from around the elbow. The Tampa defense held Nova to just two points in the final four minutes and Tampa grew their lead to 17-12 at the end of the first quarter. The second quarter started with more elite defense from the Spartans, not allowing a made field goal for the first BLANK minutes of the quarter. Tampa was able to use a Kath Van Bennekom transition bucket and a Marissa McDonald jumper to grow the lead to nine. After a Zoe Piller steal, Audrey Ramsey completed the fast break with a smooth pullup jumper to give the Spartans their first double digit lead of the game at 24-13. Nova put an end to their scoreless drought with a three as the half crossed into the final five minutes. Both teams traded defensive stops until the Spartans got back on the board with a Giorgia Palmieri three ball to put Tampa back up nine. Audrey Ramsey followed that up with a three of her own to give the Spartas a 30-20 lead heading into the break.  

Score: #23 Tampa 30, #18 Nova Southeastern 20

SECOND HALF: After a great defensive first half, the Spartans just had to keep control of the pace and hit their shots. Sariana Rodriguez got the second half scoring going by getting to the line for a free throw on the opening possession. The Spartans then forced an ugly shot from Nova and used an Olivia Davis three to extend the lead to 14 before the first minute had passed. Tampa held Nova scoreless once more and took advantage with a Zoe Piller layup. Tampa continued to pour it on after Sariana Rodriguez beat her man to the glass for an easy layup. Tampa's 8-0 run to start the half lasted for over six minutes and stretched to double digits after a Kath Van Bennekom three. The Spartans had taken a ten point halftime lead and exploded it to 21 with still 3:34 left in the third quarter. Nova had been held scoreless for a total of nine minutes stretching across the half until finally they got to the line and put a point on the board. Nova finally got offense going by hitting three big three pointers but the damage had already been done. Going into the final minute of the third quarter the Spartans led 45-30 before adding another bucket in the final seconds. Up 15 going into the fourth quarter, Tampa was looking to close out a big home win in style. Giorgia Palmieri got the quarter started with an elite crossover step-back jumper before using her quickness to draw a foul in transition. Zoe Piller and Sariana Rodriguez both added baskets early in the quarter before a huge rejection from Piller fired up the Bob Martinez Center crowd. The no doubt All-SSC Center again electrified the crowd with a physical three point play to re-give the Spartans a 21 point lead. The Spartans held Nova to just one lone three pointer before the  minute mark to help Tampa start closing the casket. Giorgia Palmieri continued to take over the fourth quarter by out-sprinting every Nova press defender before crossing up her main defender for a driving finish with a foul. With five minutes left to play, Tampa had built a huge 59-38 lead. The final minutes of this contest featured more strong Tampa defense, a smooth Kath Van Bennekom steal and transition layup, and a made jumper from Zoe Piller. The Spartans dominated in almost every aspect of this game and were rewarded with a 17 point win over a tough nationally ranked Nova side. 

Final: #23 Tampa 69, #18 Nova Southeastern 52

INSIDE THE STATS:

• Zoe Piller drops 17 points to inch closer to 1000 points for her Tampa career

• Spartans get their first ranked win of the year with the upset of #18 Nova 

UP NEXT: The Spartans will head back out on the road for a matchup with Rollins University. This contest will take place on Saturday, Feb 8th, with tip-off at 2:00pm. 

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