TAMPA, Fla. – The Spring Hill College (SHC) women's basketball team opened the 2019-20 regular season on Friday night with a 78-46 loss to the host University of Tampa Spartans at the Opening Weekend Spartan Crossover Tournament in the Bob Martinez Athletics Center.
The Spartans (1-0) jumped out to a 24-12 lead at the end of the first quarter and held a 38-26 advantage at halftime. A slow start in the third quarter for SHC resulted in a 61-36 deficit from which the Badgers could not recover.
Senior forward
Tiffany Valentine of Houston, Texas, pulled in six rebounds with 14 points while senior guard
Elise Reilly of Covington, La. added 12 points. As a team, SHC shot 30.4% (17-56) on the night, including a 28.6% (4-14) performance from 3-point distance. The Badgers lost just 10 turnovers against four steals by the Spartans defense. The Badgers hit 80% (8-10) of their free throws while Tampa out rebounded them 40-27 under the boards.
Kris Nelson led the way for Tampa with 18 points as all five starters for the home team reached double-digit scoring. Tampa shot 49.1% (26-53) from the field, including 47.6% (10-21) from 3-point range. The Spartans completed all 16 of their free throws and lost 10 turnovers to three steals by SHC.
The Badgers (0-1) continue play at the Opening Weekend Spartan Crossover Tournament on Saturday at 4 p.m. (eastern) versus the Florida Tech (FIT) Panthers (0-1).
