TAMPA, Fla. (March 9, 2008) - After trailing 20-14 at halftime, the Nova Southeastern Sharks (24-6) scored 39 points in the second half including 21 from Stephanie Sarosi (So., Mims, Fla.) in the frame as the top-seeded Sharks came from behind to defeat the second-seeded Tampa Spartans (24-6) by a score of 53-47 in the final of the 2008 Wendy's Sunshine State Conference Basketball Championship on Sunday evening at the University of Tampa's Bob Martinez Center.

The win, which is NSU's ninth consecutive victory, gives the Sharks their first-ever SSC Tournament title and the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament that accompanies it. It also breaks a program record for longest winning streak which was tied by the Sharks earlier this season before falling to Tampa at home.

Early on, the game featured very little offense as NSU jumped out to a 5-0 lead and held the Spartans scoreless for the first 6:09 in the first half. After the basket by Sheena Walton, Tampa would go on to outscore NSU 20-9 for the remainder of the half.

Perhaps the turning point of the game came when All-Freshman point guard Abbie Tepe (Fr., Cincinnati, Ohio) took the ball to the hole as time expired in the first half and was fouled by Walton. Tepe closed the half by making both free throws.

"Abbie's play at the end of the half was huge," started NSU head coach Marilyn Rule. "It was big psychologically to cut the lead down to six going into the locker room and it gave Walton her second foul. Because of that, she was not able to play as aggressively in the second half as she normally does. It was a head's up play by Abbie. That's why I love her."

The story of the first half was the Sharks' 16.7 (4-of-24) field goal percentage as well as Tampa's 29-12 rebounding advantage. All things considered, NSU was well within striking distance of its first win over the Spartans in three tries this season.

On the first possession of the second half, Ashley Wilson (Sr., Coral Springs, Fla.) grabbed two offensive rebounds before knocking down a three to make it 20-17. Offensive rebounds would define the second half as the Sharks' offensive rebound total (11) matched Tampa's rebounding total for the entire half.

The two teams would go toe-to-toe in a game that featured six ties and 10 lead changes. Sarosi, whose 28 total points helped her earn tournament MVP honors, would go 10-for-14 from the field in the second half and would give the Sharks the lead for good, 39-38 with 6:52 remaining.

A three by Eliza Allen (Jr., Hegenheim, France) followed by a Sarosi jumper pushed the Sharks lead to 44-38 with 4:47 left. A pair of free throws by Allen gave NSU its largest lead of the game at 50-42. Point guard Abbie Tepe (Fr., Cincinnati, Ohio), who put an exclamation mark on the game with a block on forward Alexa Kane with 32 seconds remaining, helped the Sharks go 5-of-6 from the charity stripe down the stretch to seal the win.

Along with Sarosi, Tepe and Amber Bishko (Sr., Orlando, Fla.) were named to the SSC All-Tournament Team. Sarosi, the newly-crowned SSC Player of the Year, becomes the first player in program history to be named SSC Tournament MVP.

NSU will now await word on its seeding and pairing in its first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance. The Division II Women's Basketball Tournament selection show can be viewed live via CSTV Broadband later this evening at 10:30pm at http://www.ncaa.com/home/.