WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – Palm Beach Atlantic women's basketball fell to Tampa on Wednesday evening, falling to the Spartans by a final score of 51-41 in a defensive battle.  The Sailfish fall to 2-8 with the loss while Tampa improves to 9-4 overall with the Sunshine State Conference victory.

The Sailfish struggled in the opening quarter offensively as they trailed 16-9 after the opening 10 minutes.  The defense for the Sailfish turned the game around in the second quarter, as the 'Fish held the Spartans to just three made field goals in the second quarter and went into the break down just 23-21 as both defenses were in control of the game.  Mina Salhia and Jonika Garvin led the Sailfish with six points each in the opening half.

The defensive struggle continued in the third quarter, as Tampa outscored PBA 11-7 in the third quarter and took a 34-28 lead into the final 10 minutes.  The Spartans made a couple of early jumpers in the fourth quarter and opened up a 39-30 lead, but the 'Fish had one final run in them , as Garvin scored the next five points and a Salhia jumper in the lane cut the Tampa lead to 39-37 with 3:13 to play.  Unfortunately for the Sailfish, Tampa made 10 of their 12 free throws down the stretch to put the game on ice and win their third SSC game of the season.

Garvin finished with a game-high 19 points on the night and added nine rebounds and three steals.  Salhia finished with eight points and added three steals of her own.  The 'Fish struggled from the field in the game, as no other player scored more than four points as they shot just 30 percent as a team and went 3-for-16 from long range. 

Tampa was led by Dori Nagy who finished with 18 points and 16 rebounds.  Staja Tyghter added a double-double as she finished with 14 points and 10 boards.

The Sailfish will return to action on Saturday, Jan. 5 as they will travel to St. Petersburg to take on Eckerd College in a 2 p.m. start.