SAINT LEO, Fla. (Jan. 24, 2009) - Powered by a second-half surge, the Nova Southeastern University women's basketball team downed Saint Leo 58-44 in Sunshine State Conference action on Saturday afternoon at the Bowman Center. The Sharks scored 32 second-half points, while holding Saint Leo to just 16 points in the final half. With the win, NSU improves to 7-10 on the season and 3-4 in the SSC. Saint Leo falls to 7-10 overall and 0-8 in conference play.

NSU started the game with a 10-0 run, which was capped by a Stevie Kamp (Fr., Mesa, Ariz.) layup at 14:28. Saint Leo answered with a 12-2 run as a Lauren Lee layup at 10:15 evened the 12-12.

A pair of Jennifer Céant foul shots at 8:26 put the Sharks up by two, but a Marquita Finn free throw at 7:37 was the first of six straight points for the Lions. Saint Leo eventually took an eight-point lead with a Lee layup at 2:51 gave the Lions a 24-16 advantage. The Sharks fought back to make it a two-point game with a Stephanie Sarosi (Jr., Mims, Fla.) layup making it a 24-22 game.

Saint Leo pushed its lead to six with a Nichole Tyler three-pointer with 48 seconds left in the half. However, NSU cut the Lions' lead down to two behind a Kamp layup and a pair of Abbie Tepe (So., Cincinnati, Ohio) foul shots as Saint Leo carried a 28-26 advantage into halftime.

In the second half, Saint Leo got a pair of four-point leads before NSU tied the game at 32-all off a LaShawwna Edwards (Jr., Miami, Fla.) layup at 15:32. The Lions built another set of four-point advantages, but the Sharks went on a timely 10-0 run to eventually take a 44-38 lead. Erin Zampell (Fr., Naples, Fla.) began the run by making both of her shots from the free throw line. Meanwhile, Edwards capped off the run by making her shot from the charity stripe at 9:25.

The Sharks continued to gradually build their lead, using a Sarosi jumper at 6:22 to make it a 48-40 game. A layup from Eliza Allen (Sr., Hegenheim, France) with 55 seconds left pushed NSU's margin to 12. Sarosi closed out the game with a layup with 17 seconds remaining in the game.

NSU shot 46.0 percent for the game, going 23-for-50 from the field, while Saint Leo shot 30 percent (18-for-60). The Lions held the edge on rebounds (38-36).

Sarosi led the game in points and rebounds, recording a 23-point, 13-rebound double-double. She also had a game-high five blocks.

For the Lions, Lee tallied a team-high 14 points and Dominique Daniels grabbed a team-high eight boards.

NSU, who has won four of its last five games, is back in action on Wednesday when the Sharks host Florida Southern in SSC action at the University Center. Tip-off is set for 5:30 p.m.