DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The No. 21 Nova Southeastern University women's basketball team were turned away in their bid towards a third straight Sunshine State Conference Tournament title, falling to Tampa in the semifinal round Saturday night at the ICI Center, 73-63.
 
The Sharks (23-6) were outscored 9-0 by the Spartans (18-12) over the final 2:53 of the first half, and were never able to regain the lead again. They did start out the third quarter scoring the first five, making it a two-point game, before Tampa scored five straight of their own.
 
Down 45-38, two straight 3-pointers by NSU's Alexis Murphy (Sr., Carlisle, Ohio) and Taylor Buie (R-Jr., Puyallup, Wash.) trimmed the deficit to one, 45-44, at the 6:03 mark. But again, the Spartans punched back, with eight straight to take their biggest advantage of nine, 53-44, 1:48.
 
One more time, in the final frame, NSU pared it down to a one-possession game. From 9:47 (down 55-47) to 7:19, they culled together six straight: a jumper by Monaye Merritt (R-Sr., Philadelphia, Pa.) in the lane, followed by two free throws and a driving layin by Kayla Wright (Jr., Lauderhill, Fla.). That made it 55-53 with 7:19 remaining.
 
But just like that, Tampa answered, with nine of the next 11 to go back up nine. Late Shark flurries twice cut it down to four, but the Spartans clinched it at the free throw line, making 9-of-12 over the final 1:02 for a 10-point win.
 
Wright led all scorers with 24, making 11-of-17 shots to go along with a team-high seven rebounds. Merritt scored 12, Molly Blomer (Sr., West Chester, Ohio) 11, and Buie nine, plus five assists.
 
Ellen Nurmi had Tampa's top output with 23 points. Juliana Cavallaro added 18.
 
The Sharks will learn their postseason fate during Sunday night's NCAA Selection Show, live online at 10 p.m. EST. It will be made available at that time HERE.