TAMPA, Fla. – Junior guard
Rana Thomas scored 14 points and grabbed eight rebounds as the Eckerd College women's basketball program fell against the University of Tampa on Wednesday night in the Martinez Center, 58-40.
The Tritons (9-14, 2-11 SSC) were playing their second straight game without leading scorer and top rebounder
Liga Vente, who continues to recover from an injury.
The Spartans (19-5, 12-2 SSC) clamped down defensively and were paced by four three-point field goals by Juliana Cavallaro as part of her game-high 18 points.
Tampa also continued to control its own destiny at the top of the Sunshine State Conference regular-season standings, holding off Nova Southeastern University by a half game.
Eckerd's offense was limited to just three field goals in the first half, hitting on 3-of-25 shots from the field as it struggled to get tracked. While Tampa's offense executed to the tune of around 37 percent, the Spartans were still able to open up a 14-point lead by halftime.
The Tritons turned it around with a 46.2 shooting clip in the second half and were only outscored by the Spartans by four in the final 20 minutes of regulation.
Five minutes into the second half, Thomas connected from deep to cut the deficit down to seven, but Cavallaro answered on the other end with a three to restore the Tampa double-digit edge.
Senior guard
Amy Buccilla hit a trey with 12:40 left on the clock to extend her remarkable streak of at least one three-point basket made in all 23 games played to date this year.
By hitting exactly 54 three-point field goals with several games left in the year, Buccilla also tied former deadeye Kati Rausberg (2011-12) for the sixth most in the program's single-season history.
Buccilla hit a three at the final buzzer moments after the Spartans had taken their largest lead of the night at 21 on free throws by Cavallaro.
UT's Shamika Williams was one point shy of a double-double after pulling in 10 rebounds and Aisha Rodney came off the bench to contribute 10 points.
The Tritons will wrap up the regular-season series against Florida Tech on Saturday afternoon in the McArthur Center with a 2 p.m. tip-off scheduled.
