FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (Jan. 27, 2010) - Although Tara Haddock (Sr., Citrus Springs, Fla.) had yet another career night, Nova Southeastern University women's basketball team could not fend off a late Florida Southern rally and fell to the Moccasins 99-93 in overtime on Wednesday evening at the NSU Arena at the Don Taft University Center.

"I am proud of our team's efforts tonight," said head coach Marilyn Rule. "We played hard and well enough to win, but you have to give credit to Florida Southern. They are a very good team. Our kids did everything I asked of them and to come up short after scoring 93 points is disappointing. Tara Haddock again had a great game all-around game. Abbie Tepe came out shooting and made great things happen on both ends of the court. The spark which we were really pleased with was the play of freshmen Rheisa Burke, who showed what she is capable of. We'll take the positives from this game and continue to move forward. Good things will happen if they play this hard."

For the second-straight game, Haddock tallied a career-high for points (24). She tied her career-high for rebounds (6), which was set in the Sharks' previous game. Additionally, Haddock hit a program record-tying six three pointers for the second straight game. She and Meghanne Hickey are the only players in program history to sink six three-pointers in multiple games, while Heidi Turczynski accomplished the feat once.

As a team, it is just the fourth time in program history in which NSU has tallied 90-or-more points. The Sharks' last 90-point game was a 92-79 win against Florida Southern on Dec. 1, 2007.

The Sharks (9-10, 2-6 Sunshine State Conference) got up to a pair of nine-point leads in the first half. With NSU leading 11-10, Priscilla Perez (Jr., Miami, Fla.) sparked a 10-2 run with a jumper at 13:26. Just under two minutes later, Rheisa Burke (Fr., Port Charlotte, Fla.) capped off the run with a layup that put NSU ahead 21-12.

However, Florida Southern (16-3, 6-2 SSC) answered with a 7-0 run that cut the Sharks' lead down to one. The Moccasins eventually took the lead on a Chelsea Johnson jumper at the 5:00 mark that made it 26-25.

Florida Southern got up to a four-point lead before the Sharks had a strong last three minutes of the opening half. Haddock hit three of her four first half three-pointers in the half's closing minutes. Of the Sharks' last 16 points, 12 came from long range and nine were by Haddock as NSU carried a 42-33 lead into halftime.

The Sharks expanded their lead into the second half. Abbie Tepe (Jr., Cincinnati, Ohio) knocked back a three to give NSU a 13-point 61-48 lead with 12:23 to go. NSU saw its lead shrink to five as Florida Southern outscored the Sharks 15-7 over the next three minutes. Johnson made a couple of foul shots at 9:07 that made it a 68-63 game in favor of NSU.

The Sharks built up a nine-point cushion, taking a 77-68 lead on a Tepe jumper at 5:29. However, Florida Southern cut away at the Sharks' lead and ultimately tied the game at 84-84 on a Nicolle DiRaimo jumper with 53 seconds left. Burke gave NSU the slim 86-84 advantage with a layup at 28 seconds, but Michaela Hawley had a game-tying jumper with 18 seconds left to send the game into overtime.

In the extra session, Florida Southern led by as many as seven, using a Hawley layup at 1:16 to hold a 95-88 lead. Behind a pair of Burke foul shots and a Haddock three-pointer, NSU made it a two-point 95-93 game with 29 seconds left. However, Johnson made four free throws in the final 18 seconds to put the game just out of reach for the Sharks.

NSU shot 43.2 percent from the field, going 35-for-81. The Sharks also hit 10 three-pointers, tying a single-game mark. The last time NSU made that many long range shots was in the 72-62 loss at Lynn on Jan. 7, 2009. NSU held the 44-38 advantage for rebounds.

Florida Southern was 52.2 percent from the field, connecting on 35-of-67 shots.

In addition to Haddock's 24 points, Burke had a career-high 17 points and Tepe added in 15. Burke also pulled down a team-high seven rebounds.

Hawley led the game with a 38-point, 13-rebound double-double. Johnson also tallied 23 points.

NSU is back in action on Saturday when the Sharks travel to Saint Leo. Tip off is scheduled for 2 p.m