Tampa, Fla. – The difference between total field goals was just one but Lynn University's women's basketball team could not overcome 12 three-pointers made by Tampa in a 79-68 defeat on Saturday afternoon.  Quanisha Dixon finished one-point shy of tying her career mark, leading the Fighting Knights with 24 points, while Chelsea Patterson added 22 points.  Lynn drops to 10-11 overall and 4-7 in Sunshine State Conference play.

Tampa quickly jumped out to a lead after opening the game 6-for-6 from the field, including 4-of-4 from three-point range.  Lynn would not be deterred though.  Patterson responded early on with a pair of three's that kept the Knights close.

The Spartans fed the ball to Taja Green, who scored 14 of her game-high 25 points in the first half, as UT built up a 14-point advantage, 27-13.  Lynn managed to chip away at the deficit with a pair of mini-runs.  The first, an 8-0 run, came with Natalie Basore knocking down a three from the top of the arc, Patterson draining a trey in the face of a Tampa defender and then Basore making a lay-up following a needle-threaded pass by Quanisha Dixon.

Defensively, LU forced UT into several turnovers while Tashina Bailey continued to rack up the blocks with three in the opening stanza.

With its double-digit lead evaporated and the game at 31-27, Tampa was forced to call a timeout.  Out of the break, the Spartans converted their next two shots but the Knights kept UT off the scoreboard in the final moments of the half to head into the locker room down just 39-32.

Tampa grabbed a double-digit advantage early in the second period but three times LU was able to cut the deficit to seven.  Each time, though, the Spartans answered back with a three-pointer to halt the Knight's momentum.

Lynn had two more opportunities late in the game, pulling to within five first on a Kira Harvey three-pointer and next on a Patterson lay-up in traffic.  Unfortunately, Giana Messina converted both times on three's to slam the door on any comeback attempt.

Tampa finished 51.9% (28-of-54) from the floor and 66.7% (12-of-18) from downtown while Lynn shot 43.5% (27-of-62) on the hardwood and 28% (7-for-25) beyond the arc.

The Fighting Knights return to action on Saturday, February 12, at 5:30 p.m. when they host Florida Southern.  Fans can follow the action live by logging on to www.LynnFightingKnights.com and selecting "Game Central."