Although most students were able to return home for the break, the players on the women’s basketball team stuck around as their season continued after finals week. The Spartans began this stretch with a home game against Southeastern, cruising to a 69-40 victory. They then traveled to Lakeland to take part in the Temple Terrace Hotel Classic. Following a tight loss to Fayetteville State, they bounced back the next day by upsetting No.25 Quincy University. In doing so, they handed Quincy their first loss.
The Spartans began 2014 with a heartbreaking 59-58 home loss to No.16 Rollins. After a win against Saint Leo and a loss at Florida Tech, the Spartans found themselves with a 2-2 record in conference play. However, they quickly improved upon that, now having won five games in a row since then, and finding themselves in second place in the Sunshine State Conference.
This hot streak began with comfortable wins over Eckerd, Lynn and Florida Southern, all in conference play. After the first week of classes, the Spartans hosted No.3 Nova Southeastern on Saturday. While most students were busy attending the Gasparilla festivities, the women’s basketball players were busy trying to give the Sharks their first loss of the season. Seniors Illyssa Vivo and Shamika Williams led the scoring that day, leading the Spartans to a shocking 71-60 victory. Vivo scored 21 points and Williams scored 18 points and also grabbed 11 rebounds. Sophomore Juliana Cavallaro also played a key role in the upset, adding 16 points.
Head Coach Tom Jessee was very proud of his girls for pulling off the upset and felt that they deserved to win as a result of their hard work. “The girls feel good about themselves and it indicates what they’re doing. We had a tough schedule, but we love good competition,” Jessee said.
The Spartans added a fifth consecutive win on Wednesday, routing Palm Beach Atlantic 85-61. As the streak is continuing, there is plenty more to look forward to for the women’s basketball team between now and the end of the regular season. They will play eight conference games throughout the month of February. In March, they will travel to Kissimmee for the Sunshine State Conference Tournament, where they will be among the favorites to take the title.
However, the women on the team do not want their season to end at the conference tournament, as the NCAA tournament is looking like a strong possibility considering the team’s recent form.
“This is what we’ve been working for. We need to continue what we’re doing and handle business. The NCAA tournament is within reach,” Vivo said.
Jessee is also looking forward to it. “The NCAA tournament is expected,” he said.
“It feels good. We are on the right track. There is a great team atmosphere. Our strength of schedule prepared us for the rest of our games,” Williams said.
Andrew Stamas can be reached at andrew.stamas@spartans.ut.edu.