No. 14 Tampa Set to Open 2014-15 Season

TAMPA, Fla. - After concluding its 2013-14 season with the No. 15 ranking in the USA TODAY final poll, the University of Tampa women's basketball team will start the season as the 14th ranked team in the nation. The Spartans will begin its 2014-15 season at home as they host the Spartans Challenge Tournament.

UT will welcome Georgia College, Flagler College, and Florida Southern College to the Bob Martinez Athletics Center.

On Friday, Tampa will play against the Saints of Flagler College at 2 p.m. Flagler ended the 2013-14 season with a record of 12-15, while falling in the first round of the Peach Belt Conference Tournament. Tampa leads the all-time series 16-4, with their last meeting coming in 2009.

Saturday, the Spartans will square off against the Bobcats of Georgia College. The Bobcats ended the 2013-14 season with a record of 18-11, falling in the championship game of the Peach Belt Conference Championship Game. All-time, Georgia College leads the series 3-0, with the last meeting coming in 2006.

The Spartans return three starters from last year's roster, including Ellen Nurmi , Juliana Cavallaro, and Taylor McVey. Nurmi was the Spartans leading scorer last season as she averaged 11.8 points per game, as well as totaling 88 assists on the season. Cavallaro averaged 10.7 points per game, while dishing out 86 assists. McVey led the Spartans with 7.1 rebounds per game.

Live stats will be made available through www.tampaspartans.com. UT will also offer a video feed for the UT games through TampaSpartans.tv.

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