TAMPA, Fla. – Despite a strong opening half, the Saint Leo women's basketball team dropped its road contest against rival Tampa by a 62-53 final score, Wednesday evening in the Bob Martinez Athletics Center.
The Lions fall to 5-9 with a 0-5 tally in Sunshine State Conference play while the hosting Spartans improve to 9-5 and 3-2 in SSC matchups.
Guard Kinnara Lewis set a new career-mark of 23 points, including 19 in the first half alone. Senior Melissa Jackson followed with 18 points and seven rebounds as the tandem accounted for all but 12 of the points scored by the Green and Gold.
Junior Chachi Guzman kept the offensive tempo, doling out 10 assists while scoring nine points. The Miami, Fla. native grabbed a team-leading nine boards, missing a triple-double by a point and a rebound. The guard remains a perfect 23-for-23 on the season in successful trips to the charity stripe.
Senior Lewis unleashed 19 points in the opening half of play, as Saint Leo coasted to a 38-21 lead at the half. The guard drained 15 points before hitting the 10-minute mark in her dominating first stanza. Junior Guzman paced the offense, dishing out seven assists to open play as the Spartans had no answer for the Lions. The Green and Gold shot a torrid 63% heading into the locker room.
The Spartans adjusted in the second half, outscoring the Lions 41-15. UT turned to leading-scorer Juliana Cavallaro and the post-presence of Aisha Rodney, as the duo totaled a familiar 41 points. Rodney muscled in 16 points in the paint, adding three converted free throws while Cavallaro capitalized on three scores from beyond the arc.
Saint Leo was unable to hang on as Tampa snuck out with the 62-53 win in the second half.
The Lions return home to host Lynn University on Saturday, Jan. 17th with a new tip off scheduled for 3 p.m. Live stats as well as a live video webcast will be available courtesy of www.saintleolions.com.
For more information on the Saint Leo women's basketball program, visit SaintLeoLions.com. Fans can also stay up-to-date on the latest Lions news by following Saint Leo Athletics on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.
