Amazing Second Half Not Enough for Women's Basketball

MIAMI SHORES, Fla.—The Barry women’s basketball team knock a 20 point deficit down to four with a minute to play but lose to the #17 Tampa Spartans 56-52 on Saturday.

Second half defense for Barry was more than stellar. In the second period, Barry held Tampa to 19 percent shooting from the field (3-16) and 11 percent shooting from the three (1-9). The Buccaneers held the #2 scoring offense in the conference to just 10 points in the second half. Barry forced 12 second-half turnovers and collected seven steals.

After surrendering 46 first-half points, Barry found a renewed vigor in the second half and cut the Tampa lead down to 10 twice, once at the 11:03 mark and again with 04:47 to play in the game. Shanna Suttington’s 10-foot baseline jumper with just over a minute to play put the Buccaneers within four at 52-56. After a Tampa shot clock violation with 00:37 seconds left, Barry committed a turnover with 00:15 seconds to play to seal their fate.

Mariesa Greene posted 12 second-half points with 10 rebounds on the night in a determined second half. Greene registered her 17th double-double on the season in the losing effort. Tilde Ahlin led the Buccaneers in scoring with 15. Adrienne Hicks chipped in eight and Suttington contributed seven.

In the first half for the Buccaneers, Ahlin posted 15 points on 5-7 shooting from behind the arc and Hicks added five in the first period. Greene only had three shots in the first half with one point and three boards.

The Spartan’s first-half effort was just too much for Barry to overcome. Tampa’s Gianna Messina hit a three at the halftime buzzer to give Tampa a 46-26 point lead going into the locker room. The Spartans shot 73 percent from the field, 63 percent from behind the arc and almost 90 percent the free-throw line in the first half.

The Bucs soccer 17 points off Tampa turnovers and nine second chance points. Barry was out scored in the paint by a margin of 24-8.

The next game for the Buccaneers is Wednesday, Feb. 24 against rival Lynn starting at 5:30 p.m. at home in the Health and Sports Center. Radio coverage of the game can be heard on the Buccaneer Broadcasting Network starting at 5:20 p.m.

Newspaper Box Score
Tampa vs Barry
02/20/10 2:00 pm at Miami Shores, Fla.
At Miami Shores, Fla.
TAMPA 56, BARRY 52
TAMPA (23-3, 13-2 SSC)
COOK, Tiara 6-11 9-9 21; GREEN, Taja 6-9 0-0 14; MESSINA, Gianna 4-9 1-2 11;
MITRYK, Caitlyn 3-5 0-0 7; GUIU, Angela 1-3 0-0 3; MESSINA, Catriana 0-2 0-1
0. Totals 20-39 10-12 56.
BARRY (17-8, 8-6 SSC)
AHLIN, Tilde 5-9 0-0 15; GREENE, Mariesa 3-7 7-10 13; HICKS, Adrienne 2-2
3-4 8; SUTTINGTON, Shanna 3-11 0-0 7; THOMPSON, Christina 2-9 0-0 6;
O'MALLEY, Tara 1-3 0-0 3; TIJANI, Nadia 0-0 0-0 0; HOUSTON, Yvonne 0-1 0-0
0; RIVERA, Anika 0-1 0-0 0; LOPEZ, Jennifer 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 16-46 10-14
52.
Tampa......................... 46 10 - 56
Barry............................. 26 26 - 52
3-point goals--Tampa 6-17 (GREEN, Taja 2-5; MESSINA, Gianna 2-6; GUIU,
Angela 1-3; MITRYK, Caitlyn 1-2; MESSINA, Catriana 0-1), Barry 10-31 (AHLIN,
Tilde 5-8; THOMPSON, Christina 2-8; SUTTINGTON, Shanna 1-7; O'MALLEY, Tara
1-3; HICKS, Adrienne 1-1; RIVERA, Anika 0-1; LOPEZ, Jennifer 0-3). Fouled
out--Tampa-None, Barry-None. Rebounds--Tampa 27 (GREEN, Taja 7), Barry 26
(GREENE, Mariesa 10). Assists--Tampa 10 (MESSINA, Gianna 6), Barry 11
(THOMPSON, Christina 2; SUTTINGTON, Shanna 2; GREENE, Mariesa 2; HICKS,
Adrienne 2). Total fouls--Tampa 10, Barry 12. Technical fouls--Tampa-None,
Barry-None. A-146