November 14, 2014
No. 14 Tampa Wins Season Opener
Box score
TAMPA, Fla. - The No. 14 University of Tampa
women's basketball team held off Flagler College with a 58-56
victory in the home opener for both teams.
The Spartans would lead by as many as nine points in the first
half before the Saints went on a 13-2 run to grab a brief lead.
Tampa would break a tie on a 3-pointer by Vanessa Sylvain prior to
halftime, giving UT a 29-26 lead heading to the half.
Tampa stretched its lead to as high as eight points in the
second half before Flagler went on another late run. The Saints
made a pair of 3-pointers inside a minute remaining, though Ellen
Nurmi sealed the Spartan victory with a pair of free throws with
four seconds remaining.
Aisha Rodney came off the bench to lead all Spartans with 12
points. Juliana Cavallaro was the only other Spartan in double
figures with 10. Cavallaro also grabbed a team-high 11 rebounds as
she finished with a double-double.
Candace Martino earned the start at the point, finishing with
a team-leading four assists. Taylor McVey added a pair of blocks as
Cavallaro also had three steals to lead all Spartans.
Tampa's bench proved to be an advantage as the Spartans held a
21-8 edge in points off the bench. UT did commit 24 turnovers as
the Saints scored 17 points off Tampa miscues.
Tampa will face Georgia College, who fell by a 75-67 score to
Florida Southern, on Saturday at 2 p.m. Live stats will be
available through Tampa.Statbroadcast.com as a live video feed is
available through TampaSpartans.tv.
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(www.facebook.com/tampaspartans), YouTube (youtube.com/utathletics)
and Instragram (tampaspartans). UT also offers blAst, a free text
messaging service that sends text alerts following all Spartan
events. To sign up, please register at www.tampaspartans.com.
