Box Score
KISSIMMEE, Fla. – The Sunshine State Conference Championship run for the third-seeded Eckerd College women's basketball program ended earlier than expected as No. 6 University of Tampa pulled a quarterfinal upset in Silver Spurs Arena on Thursday night, 52-46.
Senior forward
Krystal Charles scored 20 points, grabbed seven rebounds and blocked four shots, while junior forward
Liga Vente was 5-of-8 from the floor to end with 12 points and seven rebounds.
Earlier in the day, Charles was announced as a First Team All-SSC selection while
Annie Armstrong was chosen as the SSC Freshman of the Year and named to the All-Newcomer Team.
Tampa's Second Team All-SSC pick Alyssa Vivo started the game 5-of-5 from the field and closed out with 15 points to lead the Spartans. Moriah Hodge added 14 and Juliana Cavallaro was also in double-figures with 10.
Tampa improved to 19-8 overall and advanced in the bracket to face seventh-seeded Saint Leo University in one of Saturday's semifinals after the Lions stunned No. 2 seed Lynn University in the game prior.
EC, bumped up to eighth in the South Region rankings in a Wednesday announcement, ended its tournament run with a 14-12 overall record after finishing third in the SSC regular-season standings.
A 9-0 run spanning just two minutes broke things open for the Spartans in the first half and Tampa led by as many as 12 in the opening frame following a three-point play from Juliana Cavallaro inside the final minute before the break.
Coming into the SSC Championship winners in five of its last six, the Tritons had swept the University of Tampa in a pair of regular-season meetings and had their sights set on another win over their rival.
But the third time wasn't a charm against the Spartans, who upped the margin of cushion up to 15 points in the second half on a three-point play by Hodge with 13:33 left to play.
Junior guard
Amy Buccilla came in to break a cold spell and hit a big three from the wing to slice the double-digit deficit down to nine with plenty of time remaining.
Charles then established herself inside and went on a scoring tear to the tune of 10 unanswered points to cut the lead down to two, 48-46, with 2:21 left.
But that would be the last time the Tritons scored as they missed their last five field goal attempts.
After averaging 21.5 points per game against UT in the two regular-season matchups, the Spartans were able to hold Armstrong without any points on five shots from the floor.
Another x-factor for Tampa may have been the presence of starting guard Shamika Williams, who was absent in the lineup in one of the contests against Eckerd. Williams missed the front end of a one-and-one inside the final minute with the Tritons down four to keep EC within striking distance.
Both teams shot around 41 percent from the field on the night.
