FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The shots were falling early and often for the Nova Southeastern University women's basketball team in their 66-56 victory over the Tampa Spartans at the Rick Case Arena on Wednesday evening. Both teams now sit at 8-3 in Sunshine State Conference, but the Sharks hold control of third place in the standings, due to their conquest in both NSU-Tampa matchups in the 2016-17 regular-season.

The Sharks (12-7) raced out to an early 8-2 lead, not even two minutes into the game, as Samantha Logan and Octavia Wilson hit back-to-back '3's, something that would quickly prove to be a recurring theme. Tampa (13-5) soon tied the game at 10 on a pair of three-pointers of their own, as the teams traded leads in a back-and-forth affair for the rest of the opening frame, leading to a slim 21-20 Spartan lead as the clock hit zero. The Sharks hit 8-of-13 from the field, and four of six from long range, while the Spartans were 9-for-12 on field goals and made three of their five attempts from beyond the arc.

Tampa maintained their lead for the opening five minutes of the second quarter, but the Sharks regained control on a layup by Amanda Tivenius at the 4:45 mark and would keep that lead for the rest of the game. The Sharks ended the half on a 16-5 run for the last 5:30, holding the Spartans to only free throws, as they forced two turnovers. NSU, meanwhile, was able to capitalize, as they made six of seven field goal attempts during that time, including all four three-point attempts, two each by Wilson and Logan, and took a 40-33 margin into the break.

Nova Southeastern continued to push in the third quarter, getting their lead into double-digit territory for the first time on Logan's fifth trey of the game just over three minutes into the second half. The 5-10 senior transfer hit another one at the 1:16 mark for a game-high 14-point Sharks lead, en route to a 56-44 advantage at the end of the quarter.

A Maria Bardeeva layup with 7:24 remaining in the game put the lead at 14 again, but that would be the last field goal that the Sharks would convert in the game, as they committed four of the period's six turnovers on the ensuing possessions. The defense, however, would only allow the Spartans to cut the lead in half over the next six minutes, before desperation set in and Tampa began forcing the Sharks to line for the first time all game, where they made 6-of-8 in the final 1:34.

Wilson led the team in scoring for the second game in a row, with career-highs of 24 points and six three-pointers. Logan tied her career-high of 18 points and also set a new one with six three-pointers, in addition to seven rebounds for the SSC leader. Tivenius joined them in double figures, with 10 points on 5-of-6 shooting, while also bringing down seven boards. The junior forward has shot 76.7 from the field in the last five games, averaging 10.2 points. Katie Barnard led the team with eight rebounds to match her personal best. Bardeeva contributed eight points off the bench, to go along with a career-high three blocks. Cheray Saunders, also in a reserve role, handed out a career-high six assists, while Christen Prasse maintained her SSC-assist lead with a team-high seven.

Elena de Alfredo led the Spartans with 15 points, along with 14 by Faith Sanders. However, they only made only four three-pointers as a team, despite entering the game 20^th in the nation, averaging 8.4 per game. The Sharks defense also held Division II's third-best team in field goal percentage to over five percent below their season average of 48.4 percent, while the offense scored 11.4 points more than the country's sixth-best defense had allowed coming into the night.

The Sharks will next travel to Lakeland, Fla. on Saturday, Jan. 28 to take on the Florida Southern Moccasins in an early-evening battle at 5:30 p.m. For complete coverage, visit NSUSharks.com.