BOCA RATON, Fla. – Looking to win for the third time in the last four meetings, Lynn University's women's basketball unfortunately fell 66-59 to Tampa on Saturday afternoon.  Chelsea Patterson led all scorers with 22 points while Quanisha Dixon logged her first career double-double, 13 points and 10 rebounds, and Tashina Bailey pulled down a personal-best 10 rebounds.  The Fighting Knights drop to 7-6 overall and 1-2 in the Sunshine State Conference.

Patterson displayed the hot hand right from the start, opening the gamewith a three from the right wing.  The senior point guard was a sizzling 10-for-15 from the field and 2-of-5 from three-point range.

Tampa (11-2, 4-0 SSC) would not be discouraged and built up a four-point advanate with 12:26 on the clock.  Patterson knotted the game at 15 seconds later with a pair of jumpers in the paint, starting a back-and-forth between teams.

A 9-0 run by the Spartans midway in the half put UT on top 34-23 but LU battled right back with a 10-0 run to close out the stanza.  Marquis Lee scored seven of her season-high 18 points during the 2:39 span and Dixon sent the Knights into the locker room on a high-note following a long-distance three-pointer as the shot clock was expiring.

Three times the Blue & White would tie the game in the second half before Patterson put Lynn ahead 46-44 with 11:09 left.  Again the two teams would exchange baskets, prompting four more ties and three lead changes.  

Lee would hit one-of-two shots at the free-throw line with 3:32 remaining in the game to put LU on top 57-56.  That would be Lynn's last lead, though, as Taja Green knocked down a lay-up in traffic and converted at the charity stripe for the three-point play, putting Tampa on top by two, 59-59.

Patterson brought about the final tie of the contest seconds later when she drained a jumper from the baseline.  Lynn then had a chance to take the lead but Dixon's three-point attempt fell short and Gianna Messina took it coast-to-coast and got the foul for a Spartan 62-59 lead.  Messina led her team with 18 points.

With the game within reach, Tampa went 4-of-6 from the charity stripe to pull away.  Lynn shot 40% from the field but 50% from the line while UT hit 42.3% of its shots and 77.3% of its attempts at the charity stripe.

The Fighting Knights return to action on Wednesday, January 12, at 5:30 p.m. when they travel to Melbourne, Fla., to battle Florida Tech.  Fans can follow the action live by logging on to www.LynnFightingKnights.com and selecting "Game Central."