BOCA RATON, Fla. – The No. 12 Nova Southeastern University women's basketball team held Sunshine State Conference and local rival Lynn to five points over a quarter's worth of gametime to break open a close game and win going away, 68-51 on Wednesday night.
 
The Sharks (17-2, 9-1 SSC) and Fighting Knights (2-16, 0-10 SSC) were deadlocked at 37-37 early in the second half, with 8:47 left in the third quarter to be exact. Seven points from Monaye Merritt (R-Sr., Philadelphia, Pa.) and six from Kayla Wright (Jr., Lauderhill, Fla.) contributed to an 18-5 run to end the quarter, and NSU scored the first five in the fourth as well. Combined, it was a 23-5 run in a timespan of 11:42 that all but clinched the victory for the Sharks.
 
In the third and fourth, NSU outscored Lynn 31-18, holding the home team to nine points in each of those frames. The Sharks shot 47.2 percent from the field overall and held Lynn to 32.3 percent, the second-lowest mark by a Shark opponent this year. In the second half, Lynn was only 7-of-26, 26.9 percent.
 
Wright was the game's high scorer with 23 in 22 minutes, only nine minutes after the break when the Sharks got the game in hand. She was 9-of-12 from the field and 5-of-8 from the free throw line. Taylor Buie (R-Jr., Puyallup, Wash.) had 12 and five rebounds, and her layup at the 7:47 mark of the second quarter gave her 1,000 in her career. She is only the seventh player in NSU women's history to surpass that prestigious plateau.

"In the second half, we played very good team defense and helped over on their athletic guards," said head coach LeAnn Freeland. "It was good to see us continue to play together on that end of the floor."
 
Also in double digits was point guard Merritt, scoring 10 on 4-of-7 shooting, handing out seven assists, and pulling down five rebounds. She, Buie and Katie Barnard (R-So., Granger, Ind.) all had five boards, one behind team leader Molly Blomer (Sr., West Chester, Ohio). Rounding out the Shark scoring on Wednesday were Ida Krogh (R-Sr., Aarhus, Denmark) with nine, Sarah Kelly (Fr., Huntington, W.Va.), 3-of-4 for eight, and Barnard, scoring six, 2-of-2 from both the field and the line.

"The good news is, we can still improve a lot on both ends of the floor," said Freeland. "We are eager to make some smart changes."
 
Lynn was led by Zachara Bailey's 14, and Maddie Herr had 11.
 
The Sharks go out of conference next, technically, on Saturday afternoon. They take on SSC provisional member Palm Beach Atlantic on the home floor of the Sailfish in West Palm Beach, tipping at 2 p.m.