FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The No. 10 Nova Southeastern University women's basketball team, behind 34 points from Kayla Wright, pulled away late from Shaw to take their Thursday matinee matchup, 90-84.
 
The Sharks (9-1) held what looked to be a comfortable 11-point lead with 4:05 to go before Shaw (7-3) cut it to three, 85-82 at 1:04. But free throws late pushed NSU out to the win, as they scored five of the final seven points of the contest.
 
Wright (Jr., Lauderhill, Fla.) had an astounding shooting line of 17-of-21 Thursday, 80.9 percent, and came just a basket shy of the NSU all-time women's record held by Meixandra Porter. Taylor Buie (R-Jr., Puyallup, Wash.) notched 18 of her 23 points after the halftime break, on 6-of-12 shooting during that time, while point guard Monaye Merritt (R-Sr., Philadelphia, Pa.) had a career-best 13 assists against just three turnovers. That total was also only two shy of the school record.

"We pulled out a good win today against a very good offensive team," said head coach LeAnn Freeland. "There wasn't a lot of defense executed on either end of the floor, so we are happy that we were up six when the game ended."
 
The Sharks led throughout the entirety of the first half, though Shaw did tie it at the break 42-42 with two free throws late. The Lady Bears took their first lead with the first points after intermission, and had it on two other occasions in that third quarter. The last was 59-58 at 2:06, but NSU won the rest of the frame 11-4, capped by a Molly Blomer (Sr., West Chester, Ohio) 3-pointer that snuck in just before the horn.
 
NSU's advantages in the final period swung from that six-point spread, down to a low of three, and up to the high of 11 with just over four minutes to go. When Shaw against made it a three-point game, Merritt made 1-of-2 free throws, and then in the last seven seconds, Buie and Katie Barnard (R-So., Granger, Ind.) combined for two perfect trips to the line to end it.
 
After Wright and Buie came Blomer with 11, including three 3's, then Barnard with eight, while matching her career high of seven rebounds. Another key cog Thursday was Octavia Wilson (Jr., Nicholasville, Ky.), who hit her first NSU 3-pointer and battled for five rebounds in just 12 minutes of action.

"Kayla had an impressive outing and everyone did a great job getting her opportunities on the block," said Freeland. "Monaye did an excellent job looking for her and making easy passes."
 
NSU hosts the 2015 Shark Holiday Classic this weekend, with two 2 p.m. gametimes, against Miles Saturday and Albany State Sunday. That will wrap up the beginning half of the season before winter break.