Tampa, Fla.- Lynn University's women's basketball team (5-5) fell to No. 10 Tampa (8-3) 59-44 in Sunshine State Conference action on Saturday afternoon. The Blue & White fall to 0-2 in SSC play while Tampa improves to 2-0. Charla Nelson-James had a game-high 15 points and six rebounds. She was joined in double-figure scoring by Tylar Tracy who had 10 points and three steals.

Tampa got off to a 10-2 start but a trey by Tracy at 12:02 cut the Fighting Knights' deficit to five. Lynn kept the game within two possessions over the next six minutes but UT pulled ahead by its largest lead thus far, 16-8, with a layup from Candace Martino. Tracy answered with a layup but a three-pointer by Juliana Cavallaro would give Tampa a nine point lead. The Blue & White trailed 23-15 at the break after shooting just 14.3 percent from the field in the opening frame.

Tracy had a team-best seven points in the half and made Lynn's only three-pointer. Tampa out-rebounded Lynn 25-21. Martino had a half-high nine points and five rebounds for the Spartans in 20 minutes of play.

A layup by Sharneka McCatty would cut the Blue & White's deficit to six in the opening minute of play in the second frame but that was as close as Lynn would get. Tampa slowly pulled ahead to lead by as many as 20 points with 7:04 to go. A 7-2 run by Lynn would bring the game within 11, 53-42, with 1:35 to play but UT held on for a 15-point win, 59-44.

Nelson-James recorded all 15 of her points in the second game, marking the second-consecutive contest she has done so. Lynn improved its shooting to 45.8 percent from the field in the second half and held Tampa to 39.3 percent. Both teams shot 71.4 percent from the free throw line but Tampa edged Lynn 22-12 in rebounds.

Overall, the Fighting Knights shot 28.8 percent from the floor in the loss and just 20 percent from three-point range. Tampa had four players score in double figures and was led by Ellen Nurmi and Aisha Rodney who each had 14 points.

Lynn returns home to host Nova Southeastern at 5:30 pm on Wednesday, January 7. Fans can follow the action live at LynnFightingKnights.com. Don't forget to 'Like' us on Facebook and follow @Lynn_Knights on Twitter and Instagram.