FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The #NSU50 "Top Moments in NSU Athletics History" continues with the 13th moment on the list: Nova Southeastern adds women's basketball as sixth women's intercollegiate sport and wins the Florida Sun Conference Championship in first season. 
While other programs in NSU's history have had to grow into success, the NSU women's basketball program garnered immediate results in the 1998-99 season. NSU went 9-1 in Florida Sun Conference play in its inaugural season to become, as the Sun Sentinel reported, the first team in NAIA women's basketball history to win a conference championship in its first season.
 
The first NSU women's basketball team was made up of 10 players: four freshman, two sophomores and four juniors. First-year head coach Marilyn Rule would call them the Dream Team for the type of season the group of role players had.
 
The journey began at home on Nov. 14, 1998 against Edward Waters. The Knights would set a precedent for the year with a 79-50 blowout win and go on to win their first five games. That streak included a pair of conference wins over Flagler and Palm Beach Atlantic.
 
The road to the championships would have its bumps. NSU played six straight non-conference games in the middle of its season and lose five of them, with the last two coming down to one possession. The Knights would bounce back, winning seven of its last eight games of the regular season. On Feb. 13, 1999, NSU defeated Palm Beach Atlantic, 64-54, to clinch the FSC title.
 
The Knights won 13 out of 20 games in 1998-99 and were highly recognized by the FSC. Coach Rule was named FSC Coach of the Year in her first year as a head coach while Meghanne Hickey was named FSC Freshman of the Year. NSU was close to a clean sweep of conference awards, but the player of the year honor went Tara Teague, who is still Flagler's all-time leading scorer. Tajuana Lee and Heidi Turczynski each earned All-FSC First Team honors while Telescia Nash was named to the second team.
 
With all the honors, the true success of the Knights was dictated by their chemistry and fantastic team play. The 1998-99 Knights scored 65.1 points per game and shot 40.3 percent from the floor, both of which still rank in the all-time top five. NSU recorded 17.2 assists per game, which sat atop the program record books until the 2013-14 season.

Check back with NSUSharks.com next Tuesday for the next #NSU50 "Top Moments in NSU Athletics History."

Moment No. 1: NSU Athletics is Born
Moment No. 2: Knights Chosen as School Mascot
Moment No. 3: Hansley Hired as Director of Athletics
Moment No. 4: Nova Adds Four Sports
Moment No. 5: Nova Joins NAIA
Moment No. 6: Nova Adds Three More Teams
Moment No. 7: Nova Helps Form FIAC
Moment No. 8: Nova Wins First Conference Championship
Moment No. 9: Baseball and Volleyball Win First Conference Titles
Moment No. 10: NSU Adds Softball
Moment No. 11: NSU Adds Women's Soccer and Wins FSC Tournament Championship
Moment No. 12: NSU Names Ray Ferrero Jr. as School's Fifth President

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