WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – Palm Beach Atlantic women's basketball mounted a furious fourth-quarter comeback on Wednesday evening but fell in the waning seconds to the University of Tampa by a 57-54 final score.  The Sailfish fall to 3-16 with the loss as they were looking to win their second straight SSC contest.  Tampa improves to 16-6 with the victory.

The Spartans outscored the Sailfish 24-18 in the opening half as the Sailfish struggled to get anything going against the top scoring defense in the Sunshine State Conference.  Jonika Garvin led the Sailfish with five points in the opening half, as Tampa was led by Astaja Tyghter who scored eight. 

The Spartans outscored the 'Fish 20-15 in the third quarter and began the fourth quarter on a 5-0 run to open up a 49-33 lead over the Sailfish.  Claudia Charles then knocked down her second triple of the game to cut the Tampa lead to 13 which seemed to spark the Sailfish offense, as they knocked down two more triples in the final quarter, and Garvin made a layup and was fouled with 34 seconds to play and proceeded to knock down the free throw to tie the game at 54. 

The Spartans ran out a lot of the clock and finished a three-point play of their own to take a 57-54 lead with under 10 seconds to play, and Garvin was unable to connect on a heave as time expired as the 'Fish fell by the three-point margin.

Garvin led the Sailfish with 19 points and 12 rebounds in the contest as she also added two blocks.  It was Mina Salhia who kept the 'Fish within striking distance in the contest, as she scored 15 points on 6-of-8 shooting and knocked down three shots from long range on the night.  Charles finished with nine points as the junior went 3-for-4 from three-point range. 

The Sailfish will return to play on Saturday, Feb. 9 as they travel to Winter Park, Fla. for a 2 p.m. SSC matchup with Rollins College.