UT Women Set To Host Spartan Challenge

- The University of Tampa women's basketball team is set to take the court at the Bob Martinez Athletics Center for a pair of games starting at 6 p.m. against the University of Wisconsin-Parkside Rangers. On Saturday at 4:30 p.m., the Spartans will host defending national champion Clayton State University Lakers.

Tampa will be playing Wisconsin-Parkside for the first time ever on Friday. The Rangers are coming off its best season in school history, which ended in a trip to the NCAA Tournament "Sweet 16."

The Spartans are coming off a 21-8 season. They reached the NCAA Tournament but fell to conference foe Florida Tech 56-54 in the first round.

Tampa will be led by returning seniors guard Sarah Wickham and center Jaleesa Harmon. Tampa outscored its opponents 2018-1766 last season.

The Spartans opponent on Saturday is Clayton State. Clayton State won the NCAA Division II National Championship last season, finishing the season 35-1.

UT officially starts conference play Wednesday, November 30 against Rollins College.

Tickets will be available at the gate for $5 (adults) and $3 (children and senior citizens). UT students will be admitted for free with a valid student ID.

Live stats and a webcast will be available through www.tampaspartans.com.

Fans may follow University of Tampa athletics on Twitter (www.twitter.com/utspartans) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/tampaspartans). UT also offers blAst, a free text messaging service that sends text alerts following all Spartan events. To sign up, please register atwww.tampaspartans.com.