SAINT LEO, Fla. (January 19, 2008) - NSU center Stephanie Sarosi (So., Mims, Fla.) scored a career-high 29 points on 12-of-16 shooting to go along with 10 rebounds to lead the Sharks to a 63-50 victory on Saturday afternoon at Saint Leos Marion Bowman Activities Center. The win moves NSU to 11-5, 4-1 SSC while the Lions slide to 8-8, 1-4 SSC. The win gives the Sharks their longest winning streak of the season and gives NSU its best start in program history after 16 games.
In a game in which the Lions never led, NSU started quickly out of the gate, leading 8-0 with 16:02 left in the first frame following an 18-foot jumper by point guard Abbie Tepe (Fr., Cincinnati, Ohio). Following a timeout, Saint Leo would go on a 6-0 run to close the gap.
The two teams would struggle offensively for the remainder of the half as SLU could only manage a 32.1 shooting percentage. The Sharks shot well from the field in the first half (45.5 percent) but turnovers were their undoing as they gave the ball away 14 times.
After LaShawnna Edwards (So., North Miami Beach, Fla.) widened the Sharks' lead to 22-18, neither team would score for the final 4:30 of the half.
In the second half, NSU took better care of the ball, negating a better offensive effort from the Lions. While the Sharks committed just eight turnovers in the half, Sarosi scored 19 of her 29 in the second frame.
After the Sharks led by as much as 15, Saint Leo's Amanda Holloway scored her 1,000th career point with 6:02 left in the game, trimming NSU's lead to 49-42. Behind made threes from Eliza Allen (Jr., Hegenheim, France) and Ashley Wilson (Sr., Coral Springs, Fla.), however, NSU outscored the Lions 14-8 the rest of the way, coasting to the 13-point victory.
Aside from Sarosi's 29 points, Amber Bishko (Sr., Orlando, Fla.) added 10 points on 5-of-8 shooting while Allen dished out seven assists. Fours were wild for Tepe as she collected four points, four assists, four rebounds and four steals. Melissa Guerero led the Lions with 14 points and nine boards while Holloway added 12 points.
NSU will return to action on Wednesday, January 23 as they host the Florida Tech Panthers at 5:30 at the University Center Arena. The game can be followed live using the live stats link at nsuathletics.nova.edu.
