Tampa, Fla. - The Palm Beach Atlantic women's basketball team hit the road to face the No. 21 ranked Tampa Spartans tonight. The two sides traded blows back and forth before the Sailfish built a seven-point lead late in the fourth quarter, however, the ranked Spartans closed the game on a 10-0 run as PBA fell 77-73. PBA drops to 9-9 overall and 3-7 in Sunshine State Conference play after the defeat.

The first quarter set the tone for the close game it would be throughout, as neither side led by more than eight throughout the night. A balanced offensive attack for PBA saw six different Sailfish score in the first quarter. Ashleigh Boulin led the way as she opened 3-of-4 from the field and led the way with six points. PBA led 16-15 after ten minutes of play.

The second quarter saw both sides shoot the ball even better from the field as both sides were near 60 percent. Jillian Schenk knocked down to threes as Tampa tried to zone the Sailfish defensively but PBA made them pay by scoring 22 points and shooting 9-of-15 from the floor. After missing their first eight threes, PBA hit on 3-of-6 in the second quarter and led 38-33 at the half. 

After 12 points in the first half, Tampa's star player Zoe Piller began to take over the game in the second half. She scored 27 points in the second half as she single-handedly kept the Spartans in the game. The Sailfish were solid in the third quarter themselves as five different players scored a basket and they shot over 58 percent. 

The game was tied at 53 heading to the fourth quarter when the Sailfish opened the quarter on a 10-2 run to build the biggest lead of the night. Kash Ayuso hit three straight baskets while Boulin and Mariyah Fletcher each hit a basket to close the run. Piller was tough to stop down low as she kept her team in the game as Ayuso and Schenk each hit big three-pointers to keep the 'Fish ahead. It looked like the Sailfish were in control after a Kayzma Pierre layup put the Sailfish up by six with 1:21 remaining. From that point on though, PBA would go scoreless as they committed two turnovers and missed two free throws down the stretch.

A Piller offensive rebound and putback put the home side up by one with ten seconds remaining. This put the Sailfish in the same spot as last game against Eckerd, down one with the ball coming out of a timeout. Tonight, a wayward Ayuso pass led to a turnover, and the Sailfish failed to get a game-winning shot off as Tampa won the game at the free throw line late. PBA was 0-of-2 from the line in the second half while the Spartans took 19 trips to the line, converting on 13.

It was arguably PBA's best offensive game of the season in conference play as they shot over 50 percent from the field and took care of the basketball on the offensive end. They had four plays score in double figures, led by Ayuso who scored 20. Schenk finished the night with 16 points while Boulin and Fletcher down low each had 12 while the later finished with 11 rebounds for her second straight double-double. Claire Davis was the lone Sailfish to score off the bench as she finished with seven points but shot 3-of-12 from the floor. 

The Sailfish will look to get back on track after two losses that went down to the wire against two of the league's top sides when they host Florida Southern on Saturday at Rubin Arena. PBA came out on top against the Mocs 79-63 when the two sides met early this season.