LAKELAND, Fla. (January 31, 2007) - The Nova Southeastern University women's basketball team (7-14, 5-5 SSC) was defeated 64-44 on the road by the Florida Southern College Moccasins (8-13, 3-7 SSC) in Sunshine State Conference action on Wednesday evening at Jenkins Field House.

NSU was paced by senior guard Mechelle Jones (Rockledge, Fla.) who netted a team-high 12 points, but Mocs freshman forward Nicolle DiRaimo and senior guard Meghana Saoji each added 14 points to lead the hosts to victory.

Florida Southern never trailed in the contest, as Nova Southeastern committed 21 turnovers and could not overcome a first half where they shot 17.9% from the field.

Sharks forward Amber Bishko (Jr., Orlando, Fla.) scored 10 points and grabbed nine rebounds, while senior forward Jennifer Havens (Ontario, Ore.) contributed seven points and eight rebounds for the visitors.

The Sharks controlled the boards with a 44-36 advantage, while Florida Southern scored 28 points off turnovers and outscored NSU 24-12 in the paint.

NSU returns home to host the Rollins College Tars on Saturday evening at 5:30 PM in the University Center Arena. The NSU men follow at 7:30 versus the Tars' men in the second game of the SSC doubleheader.