VALDOSTA, Ga. – The No. 3 Nova Southeastern University women's basketball team torched the nets in the second half, making nearly 70 percent of their 3-point goals as they defeated a tough Valdosta State squad on the road Sunday afternoon, 70-58.
 
The Sharks (6-1) scored only 21 points in the first two quarters combined, but were down by just three at that point to the previously-undefeated Lady Blazers (4-1). On three occasions early on in the third quarter, they tied things up, twice on Alexis Murphy (Sr., Carlisle, Ohio) 3-pointers at 26-26 and 29-29.
 
After a VSU layup made it 31-29, Molly Blomer (Sr., West Chester, Ohio) scored on a cutting layup off an assist from Monaye Merritt (R-Sr., Philadelphia, Pa.), then Blomer returned the favor, finding teammate Sarah Kelly (Fr., Huntington, W. Va.) wide open for another layin and the Sharks' first lead of the game at the 6:44 mark. That began a stretch of 10 straight points for the team, which eventually blew up to a 16-2 run and a 12-point lead, 45-33 at 3:18.
 
The Sharks made their first eight shots of the third, with Murphy good on all four of her 3-point attempts among 13 points in the frame. Though VSU did cut it to three at the end of the period, 46-43, and tied it at 49-49 2:22 into the fourth, another Shark spurt allowed them to pull away.
 
This time it was Blomer behind the arc, making two straight to extend the lead to eight at 57-49 with 5:44 remaining, and Murphy hit her career-best sixth '3' at 4:11 to cap an 11-2 NSU run. Taylor Buie (R-Jr., Puyallup, Wash.) added the icing with the Sharks' last five for a double-digit road victory.

"Our players bounced back strong after a tough loss," said head coach LeAnn Freeland. "We played together with toughness, grit and confidence. It was great to see us play with an aggressive mindset on both ends of the floor and heat up from beyond the 3-point line."
 
Murphy, Buie and Blomer combined to go 10-of-14 from long range in the second half after the squad as a whole was just 1-of-10 in the game's first 20 minutes. The trio were all in double digits on Sunday, led by Murphy's new career standard of 19, while Buie had 17 and Blomer 10.

"Our team was excited to see Alexis knock down six threes from perfect passes in the second half to help us build the lead," said Freeland. "It was a team effort that enabled us to beat a good region team on the road."
 
Merritt added eight points, five rebounds (four offensive), three assists and two steals, with Kelly making 3-of-4 shots for seven points, while adding a team-best six boards and three assists as well. Ida Krogh (Sr., Aarhus, Denmark) had a nice floor game with four rebounds, four assists and three steals.
 
In addition to their shooting prowess (60 percent overall after the break, 68.8 percent from 3-point range), NSU had a 16-6 advantage in points-off-turnovers, 11-0 in the third quarter alone. Buie had 17 of the team's 24 bench points, outscoring the Lady Blazer reserves by 16.
 
The Sharks return to Fort Lauderdale next, taking on SSC provisional member Palm Beach Atlantic this Wednesday, with tipoff scheduled for 5:30 at the NSU Arena.