TAMPA, Fla. –The Spring Hill College (SHC) women's basketball team opened the 2017-18 season with a 69-62 non-conference loss to the Tampa University Spartans in the Bob Martinez Athletics Center on Friday afternoon.
The Spartans (1-0) and the Badgers traded baskets over the first six minutes of play with Tampa holding a slim 10-8 lead at the first media break courtesy of two 3-point buckets over the SHC defense. Out of the timeout, the Badgers started to heat up with a 3-point jumper from sophomore
Elise Reilly and a step-back 3-pointer by senior
Jewel Hill that gave the visitors a 14-10 advantage after one quarter of play.
Emily Eshoo led Tampa on a 14-3 run to start the 2
nd quarter to flip the score and give the Spartans a 32-26 lead with a minute before halftime. Senior
Jennifer Clark sparked a rally with a score off a steal and a fast break layup then freshman
Angel Benson dropped in a 3-pointer as the Badgers cut the deficit to 34-31 at the intermission.
The SHC zone defense in the third quarter forced Tampa into deep shots as the Badgers tied the at 46-46, but two jumpers including one as the period ended handed Tampa a 50-46 advantage with 10 minutes remaining. A 3-pointer and a long 2-pointer made it a 56-46 bulge for the Spartans with 6:28 left on the clock as the home team began to find the answer over the top of the Badger defense.
With two minutes to play, Tampa held a 62-52 margin, but SHC refused to quit and whittled the score down to 64-57 with 40 seconds on the clock and 67-62 at 17 seconds, but Eshoo would knock down two free throws at 9 seconds to seal the game for Tampa.
Sophomore forward
Tiffany Valentine collected 19 points and eight rebounds to pace the Badgers while Reilly hit 14 points and Hill added 13 points. As a team, SHC shot 38.1% (24-63) from the floor and 42.9% (9-21) from 3-point distance. The Badgers suffered 11 turnovers to six steals by Tampa, but knocked down 5-of-7 free throws.
Eshoo scored a game-high 26 points for Tampa as the Spartans shot 40.7% (22-54) overall and 39.1% (9-23) from 3-point distance, but kept the Badgers alive with a 61.5% (16-26) performance at the charity stripe. Tampa lost 12 turnovers to six Badger steals, but won the rebounding battle 40-36.
The Badgers (0-1) will remain in Tampa overnight to face the Palm Beach Atlantic University Sailfish (0-1) at 4 p.m. (East) on Saturday in the Bob Martinez Athletics Center.
