TAMPA, Fla. – The No. 21 Nova Southeastern University women's basketball team (3-1, 2-0 SSC) defeated the Tampa Spartans (1-2, 0-1 SSC) on Saturday at the Bob Martinez_­ Athletics Center, by a score of 58-52. 

The Spartans got off to a quick start, leading 9-2 halfway through the first quarter and extending it to 17-6, their largest lead of the game, with 2:29 left. The Sharks, however, began mounting their comeback immediately, as Megan Piggott and Taylor Buie assisted on each other's 3-pointers to end the period on a run of 8-3.

The Sharks got the deficit as low as one point in the second quarter, holding their opponent scoreless for the first five minutes. That was as close as they would get for the time being, however, as Tampa scored the game's next seven points before Samantha Logan bookended a Spartans '3' with a pair of her own.

Coming out of halftime, the Sharks maintained their battle for control. NSU took their first lead of the game, at 40-38, with 4:45 remaining after Logan and Buie hit back-to-back shots from downtown, and the third quarter ended with the two teams knotted up at 43 points each.

The final frame was all NSU. A layup by Amanda Tivenius 1:31 in gave the Sharks the lead, and they never looked back. At the same time, the defense stepped up in crunch time and allowed just one point in the game's final 3:30, at which point they had a lead of just a single point, 52-51.

Logan was a point shy of her third double-double in a row, attempting only 3-point field goals to go with her ten boards. Buie had a team-high 14 points and made four 3-pointers for the second game in a row, while Tivenius had a new career high of 13 points. Christen Prasse had a career-high 10 assists, the first player to reach double-digits for the Sharks this season.

The Sharks will return home for the NSU Thanksgiving Classic, as they welcome Palm Beach Atlantic, Valdosta State and Armstrong State to the NSU Arena on Friday and Saturday. For complete coverage, visit NSUSharks.com.