Gianna Messina Selected As SSC Player Of The Week

ORLANDO, Fla. - The Sunshine State Conference has selected Gianna Messina as its women's basketball Player of the Week for the period ending Jan. 24 as the Tampa native was instrumental in both of Tampa's conference wins last week.

The award makes the third time in Messina's career that she has received the honor. It is also the third time a Spartan has won the recognition this season.

In Wednesday's thrilling victory over Florida Southern, the junior scored 17 second half points including a pair of 3-pointers down the stretch that helped the Spartans erase a 10-point deficit. She finished the game with a team-best 24 points while also picking up three assists and was 4-7 from beyond the arc. Messina also played in all 40 minutes of the contest.

The guard continued her hot shooting from long-range on Saturday when she nailed seven 3-point baskets in UT's victory over Barry. Messina led all scorers in the game with 23 points. She added five rebounds, three assists and a pair of steals.

With her strong performances of late, Messina has vaulted herself into second on the team in scoring 13.4 points per game and her 39 successful 3-pointers are tops on the squad.