FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (December 1, 2007) - NSU Center Christine Haber (Sr., Libertyville, Ill.) led all scorers with a career-high 25 points on 11-of-16 shooting and point guard Abbie Tepe (Fr., Cincinnati, Ohio) nearly collected a triple-double with career-highs in points (15), assists (9) and rebounds (8) as the Nova Southeastern Sharks (3-2, 1-0 SSC) defeated the Florida Southern Moccasins (3-3, 0-1) by a score of 92-79 on Saturday evening at NSUs University Center Arena. The game marked the first time since February 9, 2005, in a 99-89 win over Saint Leo, that the Sharks reached 90 points.
The first half was hotly contested as the two teams battled to nine ties and 11 lead changes.
After a layup by FSC's Kquanise Byrd gave the Mocs a 37-30 lead with 4:19 left in the half, their largest lead of the game, the Sharks would go on a 13-1 run to close out the half.
A layup by LaShawnna Edwards (So., North Miami Beach, Fla.) sparked the run capped by a pair of made free throws by Tepe with three seconds remaining.
Haber scored 14 of her 25 points in the first stanza while Tepe scored 10 of her 15 in the first half as well. The Sharks outrebounded the Mocs 20-18 while holding an 11-3 assist advantage. The most telling statistic for NSU was their 53.1 field goal percentage, going 17-for-32 from the field in the first half. Florida Southern, meanwhile, shot a respectable 43.2 percent on 16-of-37 field goals.
The story of the second half was center Stephanie Sarosi (So., Mims, Fla.) who made her NSU debut with one rebound in five minutes of action in the first half. In the second half, however, Sarosi exploded for 16 points on 7-of-7 shooting.
Byrd would give the Mocs a 48-47 lead, converting on a free throw with 15:55 left. Sarosi, however, would lead the Sharks on an 11-0 run, scoring eight of those 11 points to give NSU a 10 point lead with 13:25 left.
After a Chelsea Johnson jumper capped a Florida Southern surge, making it a two-point game with 10:02 left, Tepe and Sarosi were brought back in and NSU would go on a 24-11 run, including layups by Tara Haddock (So., Citrus Springs, Fla.) and Amber Bishko (Sr., Orlando, Fla.) and three unanswered baskets by Sarosi.
Collectively, the Sharks shot the lights out in the second half, going 17-for-32, good for 58.8 percent from the field, including a 5-for-6 effort by Haber and Sarosi's 7-for-7.
For the game, NSU shot 56.1 percent from the field on 37-of-66 shooting. NSU outrebounded the Mocs 46-37 and amassed a 25-18 assist to turnover ratio. Both teams finished with seven steals and three blocks.
Bishko scored 15 points to go along with eight boards as the Sharks, for the fourth straight game, have had at least three players score in double figures and had four players in double figures for the second consecutive game.
Guard Ashley Wilson (Sr., Coral Springs, Fla.) added nine rebounds and Eliza Allen (Jr., Hegenheim, France) added nine points and a career-high nine assists.
Johnson and Byrd each had 23 points for the Mocs while Willamina Folks collected 10 points and eight rebounds.
NSU will return to action on Sunday, December 9 as they will host the Valdosta State Lady Blazers at 2pm in an important South Region matchup.
