No. 25 Tampa Stymies Florida Southern in SSC Road Contest

LAKELAND, Fla. - The No. 25 University of Tampa women's basketball team picked up its first road victory at Florida Southern College since the 2009-10 season with a 51-31 win over its Sunshine State Conference rival on Wednesday evening.

The victory improves the Spartans to 12-3 on the year, with an even 3-3 SSC showing. FSC is now 8-8 overall and 2-4 in league action. While holding the Mocs to just 31 points, UT turned in its best defensive effort since limiting Puerto Rico-Cayey to 21 total points in 2008.

UT's defense held the Mocs to just 20.4 percent from the floor, including a 19.2 clip in the first half. The Spartans never trailed and extended a 25-12 halftime advantage to as many as 25 points in the second half to cruise to the victory.

Senior Moriah Hodge led the team in scoring for the fourth straight game with 14 points. While leading the team in scoring in six of the previous seven games, the Cincinnati, Ohio native also grabbed a team-leading seven rebounds with three steals.

Freshman Juliana Cavallaro added 12 points as Catherine Matthews made her first start of the season and finished with nine points.

The Spartans were 38.1 percent from the field, also connecting on four 3-pointers.

Tampa will travel to Miami Shores, Fla., for a Saturday game at SSC opponent Barry University. The game is scheduled for 4 p.m. Live stats and a webcast will be available through TampaSpartans.com.

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