FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The Nova Southeastern women's basketball team snapped its three-game losing streak, putting up its highest score of the 2017-18, with an 81-54 rout over Benedict College on Friday evening in the Rick Case Arena.
 
INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
FINAL: W, 81-54
RECORDS: Nova Southeastern (5-4), Benedict (2-9)
LOCATION: Rick Case Arena | Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
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HOW IT HAPPENED:
 
1ST QUARTER | A late starter's entry into the book by Benedict resulted in a technical foul for the team and put Alison Hughes at the line before the whistle, giving the Sharks a 2-0 advantage with her made shots. The Tigers responded at the 7:49 mark with a trey to take its only lead of the game, 3-2. Back-to-back 3-pointers by Skyla Osceola and Hughes pushed the Sharks out in front, 10-3, their largest margin of the quarter, and the Sharks went on to take the same size of lead, 22-15, into the second quarter.
 
2ND QUARTER | A lay in by BC's Ay'Anna Bey at the 7:45 mark cut the deficit to five points, 25-20, but that would be the closest the Tigers would get to the Sharks, as a layup by Cheray Saunders ignited a 15-6 run for a 40-26 NSU lead heading into the break.
 
3RD QUARTER | The third quarter for the Sharks was its strongest offensively of the night, outscoring Benedict 25-14 from 62.5 percent (10-of-16) shooting from the field and 66.7 percent (10-of-16) from beyond the arc. Defensively, NSU held Benedict to a measly 7.1 percent (1-of-14) from the field. The Sharks took their largest lead of the game, 29 points (62-33), as Megan Piggott sunk her fourth triple of the game with 2:52 remaining in the quarter, and went on to hold a 65-40 advantage going into the fourth quarter.
 
4TH QUARTER | Mikayla Thompson kicked off the final frame with an and-one play 37 seconds in for a 68-40 NSU lead. Despite being the closest scoring quarter of the night, 16 points for NSU and 14 for the Tigers, the Sharks were able to stay out in front by at least 25 for the remainder of the game, as the scoring was capped with a layup by Natalia Leaks for a final score of 81-54.
 
INSIDE THE STATS:

• Mikayla Thompson led all players with a career-high 17 points, capitalizing on 7-of-9 shooting from the field and 2-of-4 from three-point range.
• Four other Sharks put up double-digits, Kayla Wright and Saunders each had 13 apiece while Piggott and Hughes tallied 12 and 11, respectively.
• Piggott was a solid 4-of-8 from deep, adding four assists, six rebounds, two steals and two blocks.
• Skyla Osceola also recorded four assists, tying Piggott for a game-high.
• Saunders collected four steals to go along with five boards, while Wright had three steals.
• NSU capitalized on turnovers, putting up 32 points off them. In total, Benedict has 26 turnovers.

 
BEYOND THE BOXSCORE:

• Thompson's 17 points served as her highest as a Shark, coming in with a previous high of six (vs. Lynn).
• The Sharks recorded season-best numbers in points, 3-pointers, steals, assists, turnovers forced and opponent field goal percentage.
• Tonight's win bring the overall series between Benedict and Nova Southeastern to 4-2 in NSU's favor.

 
 
UP NEXT
 
The Sharks will host Shaw on Monday afternoon to close out non-conference play for 2017-18. The game is slated to begin at 4:00 p.m. in the Rick Case Arena.
 
 
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Follow along with live updates on Twitter by following @NSU_WBasketball.