TAMPA, Fla. - The Palm Beach Atlantic women's basketball team looked to pull off the biggest upset of the Sunshine State Conference season when they traveled to Tampa today to face the No. 20 and undefeated in conference play Spartans. The game went down to the final few possessions but the Sailfish ultimately fell 64-58. PBA drops to 3-18 after the defeat while Tampa improves to 18-3.

Both teams started the game out slow from the field as the Spartans outscored the 'Fish 12-7 in the first quarter. PBA was 3-of-15 from the floor in the first ten minutes but were able to make things difficult for the Spartan offense as they shot just 4-of-13. It was apparent early on that Spartans leading scorer Dori Nagy was going to be a problem for the Sailfish as she scored an early six points.

In the second quarter, the Sailfish offense exploded for 24 points as they took the lead for the final seven minutes of the first half. Sailfish senior forward Aniyah Ross played the best half of her season as she scored eight points in the second quarter to finish the half with ten points and seven rebounds. With Ross dominating the play inside, Sia Williams added five in the quarter and Victoria Self came off the bench to score the final five points of the half. Coach Manisha Redus went deep into the bench and got scoring contributions from six of the eleven Sailfish who appeared in the first half. The Spartans scored 17 points in the quarter behind Nagy's seven as the Sailfish led 31-29 at the halftime break.

The game stayed tight throughout the third quarter as the game was tied five different times in the quarter. The Spartans improved their defending of the Sailfish bigs, holding Ross without a field goal in the second half. Claire Bady came to life in the second half using her size advantage over Tampa point guard Kris Nelson. Bady was able to get to the basket at will resulting in layups and six trips to the free-throw line. She led PBA with eight points in the quarter as the 'Fish outscored the Spartans 15-14 in the third quarter. 

The Spartans began the fourth quarter on a quick 5-0 run to reclaim the lead, but the Sailfish didn't go away quietly. Victoria Self hit a big three to stem the tide during the Spartans run. The Sailfish were able to turn 16 Spartan turnovers into 18 points in the game, and when Avree Carpenter got a steal and fast-break layup the game was tied 52-52 with five minutes remaining. 

The combination of Nagy and LaShayla Wright-Ponder down the stretch was ultimately to much for the Sailfish despite the fact that PBA had their opportunities late. PBA was down 59-58 with forty seconds remaining after Sia Williams scored five straight for the Sailfish, but Avree Carpenter was unable to connect on a driving left-handed layup or a deep three-pointer that would have tied the game with ten seconds remaining. The Spartans iced the game from the line as the Sailfish finished making only one of their last eight shots from the floor.

Nagy finished with a game-high 22 points and Wright-Ponder had 17 to carry the Spartans. Sia Williams led the 'Fish 14 points while Ross reached double figures finishing with ten points. Claire Bady finished with eight points and eight rebounds while Vicotria Self led the bench unit with eight points. PBA finished the game shooting 32 percent from the floor, 18-of-56 and 8-of-21 from three. Tampa shot 47 percent from the field while hitting four three-pointers. 

This was a promising road performance for the Sailfish after dropping their previous three SSC contests decisively. The 'Fish will look to carry the same level of play to Wednesday when they play at Barry.