Tampa Falls on the Road at Florida Southern

LAKELAND, Fla. - Despite controlling much of the second half, the University of Tampa Spartans dropped a 75-66 decision to conference rival Florida Southern Wednesday night at the Jenkins Field House. With the loss, UT fell to 12-4 on the season while its conference record evened up at 3-3. The Mocs improved to 13-3 overall and 4-2 in the conference.

Gianna Messina turned in a strong first half performance, scoring 13 of her 17 points in the opening period while also pulling down what ended up being a team-high nine rebounds. Messina also finished the game with seven assists.

The Spartans held a 39-36 lead at the break, having erased an early six-point deficit.

The Spartan hot hand transferred to Tiara Cook in the second half as she chipped in 11 of her team-high 18 points as UT led through much of the stanza, including an eight-point advantage with 8:22 remaining in the game. Angela Guiu scored 11 to round out Tampa's double-figure scorers.

Florida Southern began to chip away at the lead, eventually tying the game at 64 with 2:05 to play while in the midst of a 15-4 run to end the game. The Mocs were a perfect 9-9 from the charity stripe in the game's closing final minutes.

Tampa will look to earn its first conference win on the road when the Spartans travel to Florida Tech for a 2:00 pm contest. Fans may sign up for eScores, a free service that sends text message alerts to fans at the conclusion of Spartan athletic events. Please visit the official athletics website to sign up.