LAKELAND, Fla. (Feb. 27, 2010) - Nova Southeastern University women's basketball team lost in its final game of the regular season, dropping a 75-59 game at Florida Southern on Saturday evening.
However, the Sharks' season will continue on Wednesday with the opening round of the Sunshine State Conference Tournament. An Eckerd loss to Rollins earlier on Saturday secured the Sharks' trip to the tournament. NSU, which will be the No. 8 seed, will travel to top-seed Tampa for a 7 p.m. game.
Despite shooting 42.9 percent during the first half, the Sharks had to defend a Florida Southern offense that shot 57.1 percent in the opening 20 minutes. The Moccasins got up to a 10-pointe 21-11 lead with 12:20 remaining with a layup from Megan Dzikas. NSU pulled to within seven with as Erin Zampell (So., Naples, Fla.) made a layup at 10:48 that made it a 22-13 game in favor of Florida Southern. However, Florida Southern used a 12-0 run over the next five minutes to build a 19-point cushion. The Sharks gradually chipped away at the deficit, coming to within 11 on a Stevie Kamp layup (So., Mesa, Ariz.) at 3:16, before the half ended with Florida Southern ahead 44-31.
In the second half, after Florida Southern took several 19-point leads, the Sharks used a six-point run to make it a 62-50 game with 7:59 to go. Jada Buckner (So., Loudon, Tenn.) sank a pair of free throws that cut the Florida Southern's lead down 12. However, that would be as close as NSU could get for the remainder of the game as the Moccasins ultimately took a pair of 23-point advantages in the closing four minutes.
NSU was 23-for-65 from the field and shot 35.4 percent for the game. Florida Southern hit 42.1 percent of its shots, going 24-for-57. The Moccasins also outrebounded the Sharks 51-35.
LaShawnna Edwards (Sr., Miami, Fla.) scored a team-high 12 points, while Buckner and Rheisa Burke (Fr., Port Charlotte, Fla.) chipped in with 11 and 10 points, respectively. Edwards and Zampell each had a team-high six rebounds.
Michaela Hawley and Dzikas each scored a game-high 17 points. Nicolle DiRaimo added a 14-point, 21-rebounds double-double.
