WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - The Palm Beach Atlantic women's basketball team played host to No. 13 Tampa tonight at Rubin Arena. On a four-game winning streak, the Sailfish couldn't get much going tonight against the Spartans as they fell 68-37. PBA falls to 13-10 with the defeat overall and 7-8 in Sunshine State Conference play.

After giving the Spartans all they could handle on their home court where they fell at the buzzer earlier this season, the Sailfish couldn't match that execution and energy as they fell behind early on today. Short-handed on the night, PBA struggled to find an answer offensively against a Tampa zone defense designed to test the Sailfish shooting from outside the paint. It wasn't the night of PBA leading scorer Kash Ayuso, who is second in the conference at 17.1 ppg. Her slow start stayed with her the whole night as she scored just three points on 1-of-10 shooting. As a team, PBA went 3-of-31 in the first half and trailed 38-10.

The off-shooting night began to affect the 'Fish on the defensive side of the floor as the Spartans shot 48 percent, dominating points in the paint and fast break points. Even PBA's best shooter Jillian Schenk was cold, coming off her strong game earlier this week as the Sailfish defeated Lynn, she shot just 1-of-8 from three. 

The Sailfish offense was better in the second half, but the game was out of reach for a second-half comeback. The PBA attack was carried by Karyzma Pierre who got off to a slow start shooting but hit on her last seven shots. PBA's best perimeter defender, Pierre kept her intensity high on both sides of the floor throughout the night and finished with a team-high 15 points. Bri Marlow was forced into a larger roll off the bench without conference-leading rebounder Mariyah Fletcher, and she battled hard for the 'Fish in the paint against a bigger Tampa lineup and finished the night with six rebounds.

The Sailfish will look to bounce back next week when they head to Florida Tech on Feb. 14. The Panthers currently sit at the bottom of the SSC and a Sailfish win would go a long way to their goal of wrapping up a spot in the conference tournament.