Box Score LAKELAND, Fla. – The No. 24 Nova Southeastern University women's basketball team fell victim to a hot-shooting Florida Southern squad, taking a road defeat Saturday evening, 78-63.
The Sharks (16-5, 8-3 SSC) trailed FSC (10-10, 4-6 SSC) by three at the half, 33-30, after Cashala Thompson nailed a 3-pointer with about two seconds left. The Mocs continued to lead all throughout the beginning portion of the second frame and were up eight at the 12:34 mark, 54-46, before the Sharks battled back.
It was 11 straight NSU points, highlighted by three '3's, by
Alexis Murphy (Jr., Carlisle, Ohio),
Molly Blomer (Jr., West Chester, Ohio) and
Danielle Robinson (Sr., Fort Lauderdale, Fla.), giving the Sharks the lead at 57-54. That advantage was short-lived, however, and their only lead of the second half. FSC scored six points in the span of the next 2:08, and pushed out to nine straight overall, to move back ahead for good.
The FSC advantage was six at that point, 63-57, with 5:19 left. The closest NSU would get after that was three, by scoring the next three to make it 63-60, but again the Mocs had another run in them, this one 10-0. From the point the Sharks had their lead until 1:08 remaining, FSC outscored their visiting counterparts 16-3 and cruised, giving NSU their largest loss of the season.
FSC shot a blazing 58.6 percent in the second half and 56.4 percent overall, the second-highest clip by a Shark opponent this season. They held NSU to 35.7 percent shooting, the team's lowest on the year.
Kayla Wright (So., Lauderhill, Fla.) was an exception, as she went 6-of-9 from the field and scored a team-high 14 points for NSU, along with five rebounds. Blomer hit four 3-pointers and had 12, with
Monaye Merritt (R-Jr., Philadelphia) adding 10 points and seven assists, the second-most she's posted in her Shark career. Robinson tied Wright for the team high in boards, and she and Murphy both scored nine points, but each suffered through shooting struggles on the night.
Jensen Blassage led the home team with 16 points, 14 coming in the second half. Likewise, Sydni Payne had 12 of her 13 in the second half. Mariah Harris had 14 points overall, and Christen Strawbridge added 13 and 10 rebounds. The Mocs outrebounded NSU 40-22 (another Shark low this season), and had the point-in-the-paint advantage, 46-18.
The Sharks look to bounce back Wednesday night for the first of three straight games at the NSU Arena. They will face Lynn for a 5:30 tipoff in Fort Lauderdale. The 9-1 Rollins Tars now leads the conference by two games in the loss column with both the Sharks and Florida Tech falling to 8-3 in SSC play on Saturday.
