MELBOURNE, Fla. (February 27, 2008) - NSU center Stephanie Sarosi (So., Mims, Fla.) scored a game-high 18 points along with 13 rebounds as the Nova Southeastern Sharks (20-6, 13-2 SSC) defeated the Florida Tech Panthers (11-15, 3-12 SSC) by a score of 59-41 on Wednesday night at Florida Tech's Clemente Center. The win gave NSU its first 20-win season in program history. In addition, the Sharks have clinched at least a share of its first-ever Sunshine State Conference regular season championship.

In a pedestrian first half that saw both teams shoot 33 percent from the field, a made three-pointer by Florida Tech's Lynisha Nelson gave the Panthers its last lead of the evening at 11-10 with 14:44 remaining. A jumper by Sarosi would give the Sharks the lead for good en route to a 23-22 NSU lead at the half.

In the second half, NSU used back-to-back threes by Abbie Tepe (Fr., Cincinnati, Ohio) to spark a 10-0 run to start the half, en route to a 40-28 lead when Eliza Allen (Jr., Hegenheim, France) nailed a three with 12:30 left.

A pair of free throws by Allen gave NSU a 58-38 lead with 2:01 left, allowing the Sharks to coast to the 18-point victory. The Sharks shot 50 percent from the field in the second half while Florida Tech only shot 18.5 percent on the way to NSU outscoring the Panthers 36-19 in the second half.

Tepe added 14 points and five assists for the Sharks while Allen scored 12 points. Nelson led the Panthers with 15 points on 4-of-19 shooting.

NSU will return to action on Saturday, March 1 as it travels to Miami Shores, Fla. to take on the Barry Buccaneers in the final game of the regular season. A win by NSU would clinch sole ownership of the SSC regular season title.