No. 17 Tampa Responds With 72-48 Victory Over Eckerd

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Tiara Cook registered her third straight double-double and Gianna Messina nailed four 3-pointers en route to scoring 22 points as the 17th-ranked University of Tampa Spartans rebounded from Saturday's loss with a 72-48 victory at Eckerd College. Wednesday's night win improves UT to 14-2 and 4-1 in the Sunshine State Conference while the Tritons drop to 5-7 and 0-4.

After falling behind 3-2 to the hosts, Cook recorded an old-fashioned three-point play at the 17:36 mark and Tampa never looked back.

With 9:19 remaining, Messina hit the second of her four treys to give the Spartans a 22-7 lead, and at the half Tampa had built up a 23-point advantage as UT controlled throughout the entire opening stanza.

The Tritons would cut the lead to 20 on several occasions during the second half but Eckerd would get no closer.

Cook finished the contest with 20 points and 14 rebounds while Messina's 22 were the game's top mark.

Caitlyn Mitryk also turned in a solid performance as the senior finished with nine points, six rebounds and seven assists. Catriana Messina added six helpers, three of which came on long-range shots by her sister.

Tampa outshot Eckerd as the Spartans shot 41.9 percent on the night compared to EC's 31.5 percent. The Spartans also outrebounded the opponent by a 45-32 clip.

Entering the game as the third-best team in the nation in limiting turnovers, the Spartans committed just 11 giveaways in the contest.

The Spartans now will return to the Martinez Center for a 2 p.m. game with Rollins College on Saturday. Last season, the two teams were co-champions of the SSC regular season and also met in the conference tournament championship game - a victory for the Spartans.

UT will offer live stats and a webcast through www.tampaspartans.com, accessible by clicking on the Multimedia link. Fans may follow University of Tampa athletics on Twitter (www.twitter.com/utspartans) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/tampaspartans). UT also offers eScores, a free text messaging service that sends text alerts following all Spartan events.