TAMPA, Fla. - In the first game at the South Region Crossover Classic, No.11 Tampa defeated West Alabama 71-51 Friday night at the Bob Martinez Athletics Center. With the loss, UWA drops to 0-1, while Tampa improves to 2-2 on the season. 

"Very disappointed with our performance tonight," UWA head coach Rusty Cram said. "Things didn't go our way early and it snowballed from there."

"When you play a team of this magnitude, we have to preserve and fight through it," Cram said. "We have to learn from it and get better for tomorrow."

Bria Dent led the Tigers with 11 points and nine rebounds, going 5-for-13 from the field and 1-for-5 from the free throw line. Jala Williams contributed nine points, six rebounds, four assists, and three steals. Zoe Watts chipped in eight points with six rebounds. 

UWA took an early 4-3 lead but fell behind and trailed the rest of the game. In the first quarter, Tazsa Garrett-Hammet's layup gave the Tigers an early 2-0 start. With 7:39 minutes left, Dent made a layup and the Tigers led 4-3. The Spartans then went on an 8-2 run to take the 9-4 lead. With 1:49 remaining, Garrett-Hammett scored on a layup to cut Tampa's lead to 16-10 to end the first quarter. 

In the second quarter, UWA went on a 5-2 run then the Spartans pulled ahead after a layup by Dori Nagy. With 7:19 minutes left, Williams scored on a layup and was fouled. She made the free throw to trim the Spartans lead to 20-18. Tampa closed out the second quarter on a 15-6 run and led 35-24 at halftime. 

UWA came out of the half with a few missed shots, but Watts made two free throws to cut Tampa's lead to 35-26. The Spartans went on a 16-2 run, making three three-pointers to gain a 54-28 advantage over the Tigers. With 2:08 remaining in the third quarter, Watts was fouled and made both free throws, then the Spartans added a layup before closing the third quarter to keep the 55-30 advantage over the Tigers.

In the fourth quarter, the Tigers outscored Tampa 21-16. It was UWA's best quarter of the game. Naelyn Rios scored on a layup and made her free throw, Dent and Williams both added layups, while Ella Felkins made both her free throws to cut the Spartans lead 65-39. 

The Tigers went on a 12-6 run when Jada Golden made a two-point jumper, followed by Lauryn Lilly's three-pointer. Williams had a big steal and made the layup. Lilly added another three-pointer, and Watts ended the game with a layup to cut the Spartans lead and close out the game 71-51. 

UWA ends the two-day tournament against Florida Tech Saturday, Nov. 13. Tip-off is set for noon at the Bob Martinez Athletics Center. 

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