WINTER PARK, Fla. – The Nova Southeastern University women's basketball team snapped their four-game winning streak with a 72-66 loss at the hands of the Rollins Tars at the Warden Arena on Saturday afternoon.
 
INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
FINAL: L, 72-66
RECORDS: Nova Southeastern (8-5, 4-3 SSC), Rollins Tars (9-5, 4-4 SSC)
LOCATION: Warden Arena | Winter Park, Fla.
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HOW IT HAPPENED:
 
1ST QUARTER | The Sharks raced out of the gate, hitting on a trio of 3-pointers while the Tars missed their first six field goal attempts and committed four turnovers in the game's first four minutes. NSU used that opportunity to build a 9-0 lead before Rollins called an early timeout. Alison Hughes hit her second from long distance to give the Sharks their first double-digit lead, 16-6, with four minutes left in the quarter. The Tars, however, didn't go down, reeling off a 12-2 run, part of a streak of nine-consecutive field goals, to tie the game with 68 seconds remaining before the Sharks ended the opening frame with a slight advantage of 22-20.
 
2ND QUARTER | NSU brought back the defensive pressure they used to begin the game to start the new period, holding the Tars to 0-for their first 12 from the field, their first bucket coming with just 90 seconds until halftime. That allowed the Sharks to build a game-high 16-point lead (38-22) before Rollins hit three in a row at the end of the half to cut the deficit down to 11 points, a 41-30 Sharks advantage.
 
3RD QUARTER | The Tars started cutting into the lead with five in a row out of the break, but the Sharks responded with five of their own. They were unable to cut off the next Rollins run, however, a 16-1 rally that gave the Tars their first lead of the game. An old-fashioned 3-polnt play from Christen Prasse and a long 3-pointer by Megan Piggott got the Sharks within a single point heading into the fourth quarter, but still trailing nonetheless, 54-53.
 
4TH QUARTER | The Tars only increased their lead in the final quarter, bringing it up to as many as eight three minutes in. The Sharks rallied back with a layup and four free throws to make it a one-possession game, but they gave up jumpers on each of the next two defensive possessions, while missing a pair of their own layups and committing a pair of turnovers. The deficit fluctuated between three and seven points the rest of the way, before ending with the final six-point margin.
 
INSIDE THE STATS:

• Hughes led the team with 16 points, her sixth straight double-digit scoring effort. She continues to shoot well from beyond the arc, draining four of her eight 3-point attempts on the day.
• Cheray Saunders and Maria Bardeeva joined Hughes with 12 and 11 points, respectively. Saunders also added six rebounds.
• Prasse contributed six points, six rebounds, four assists and a steal, but fouled out early in the fourth quarter, while Skyla Osceola had six points, four rebounds, four assists and a steal, all her points coming from long distance.

 
BEYOND THE BOXSCORE:

• The Sharks shot 14-of-32 from the field, including 6-of-14 from deep, but couldn't get their shots to fall in the second half, shooting just 4-for-14 in the third quarter and 2-for-8 in the fourth, as well as just 10 of 18 attempts at the charity stripe in the second half.

 
UP NEXT
 
The Sharks will stay on the road, traveling up to Daytona Beach, Fla. to face the Embry-Riddle Eagles on Wednesday evening at 5:30 p.m.
 
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Follow along with live updates on Twitter by following @NSU