FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The No. 4 Nova Southeastern University women's basketball team ended Saturday night on a 20-7 run to wrap up the 2015 NSU Tipoff Classic with an 81-68 win over Lee at the NSU Arena.
 
The Sharks (2-0) and Flames (1-1) were knotted up for the 12th time in the game, 61-61, with 6:17 remaining. The home squad then scored the next 14 points, keeping Lee off the scoreboard for 4:38 of gametime, until 1:41 left, to seal the victory.
 
The run started out with five straight points from Monaye Merritt (R-Sr., Philadelphia), who would end the proceedings with a career-best of 22, including a 15-of-17 line from the charity stripe. She hit a 3-pointer to start the stretch at exactly 6:00 and after an empty Flame possession, outraced the defense for a running lay-in 33 seconds later.

Not only did the Shark point guard pour in points in the fourth, 10 in total, after those first five, she assisted on the following two baskets and blocked a Lee shot attempt on their next possession (her third to match her career best). She would eventually cap the night's scoring with 19 seconds to go, icing two more free throws for the 13-point win.

All told, the fourth quarter was 26-11 in favor of NSU. The Sharks made eight of their last 11 shots from the field, and 6-of-7 free throws (with an end total of 28-of-33 from the line, an 84.8 percent success rate).

"Our players worked very hard and played together for 40 minutes to earn a great region win," said head coach LeAnn Freeland. "Lee is going to win a lot of games this season; they are a very talented, well-coached team. I am proud of our team effort to pull it out."

Kayla Wright (Jr., Lauderhill, Fla.) scored the last points of that 14-0 stretch and was an efficient 6-of-10 from the field for 12 points in 14 minutes, helping to contribute to the team's second healthy bench-point advantage in as many days, on Saturday of 43-17 (including 17-0 in the final quarter).
 
Besides Merritt and Wright, also in double digits were Molly Blomer (Sr., West Chester, Ohio), matching the latter with a dozen points, while Taylor Buie (R-Jr., Puyallup, Wash.) chipped in with 11 as well as distributing three assists.

"We have seen our depth develop throughout our early practices, so it is great to see the production coming from a lot of different players," said Freeland. "In order to maximize our strengths as a team, we have key players coming off the bench, and so far our strategy is working." 
 
The Sharks will next have their Sunshine State Conference opener of the 2015-16 season, hosting Lynn at the NSU Arena this upcoming Wednesday, Nov. 18 at 5:30 p.m.