ST. LEO, Fla. – Despite double-double performances by Maria Bardeeva and Mikayla Thompson, the Nova Southeastern women's basketball team fell to the Saint Leo Lions by a score of 55-52 on Wednesday night in the Marion Bowman Activities Center.
 
INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
FINAL: L, 55-52
RECORDS: Nova Southeastern Sharks (10-11, 6-9 SSC), Saint Leo Lions (9-14, 4-11 SSC)
LOCATION: Marion Bowman Activities Center | St. Leo, Fla.
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HOW IT HAPPENED:
 
1ST QUARTER | The Sharks jumped out to a 6-3 lead using layups by Maria Bardeeva and Skyla Osceola and after a media timeout, pushed their lead to 10-4 with a bucket by Taylor Smith. The home team started to chip away at NSU's lead in the final 3:30 of the frame, taking off on a 10-0 run to bring a 14-10 advantage into the second quarter.
 
2ND QUARTER | A jumper by SLU's Hooks pushed the Lions' lead out to six, 16-10, but a 6-0 run by NSU knotted the game 16-16. The two teams exchanged buckets, but a foul on Bardeeva's lay-in allowed the classic three-point play to give the Sharks the lead, 19-18. NSU outscored the Lions 5-4 over the last five minutes of the game to take a 24-22 edge into the break.
 
3RD QUARTER | The Sharks continued to hold their lead throughout the entirety of the third quarter, grabbing their largest lead, 35-27, at the 3:01 mark with a layup by Bardeeva. The Lions used a 6-0 run to close out the quarter to cut the deficit to just two points, 35-33, in NSU's favor.
 
4TH QUARTER | The final frame was the closest of the game as it saw five lead changes and four ties. With a minute and a half left, free throws by Thompson and SLU's Hooks traded leads, and an NSU turnover allowed the Lions to hold onto theirs as the time elapsed.
 
INSIDE THE STATS:

• Bardeeva led all Sharks with 17 points, while Thompson followed her with 13. The pair each added 10 boards to complete their double-doubles. Bardeeva also had two blocks and two assists.
• Smith added nine points and Skyla Osceola had five with five rebounds and two assists.

 
BEYOND THE BOXSCORE:

• Bardeeva's 10 rebounds were a career-high while her points (17), minutes (33), field goals made (7) and field goal attempts (13) were all a season-high.
• Thompson's free throws made and rebounds were a season-high.
• This was the first time since Dec. 1, 2012 the Lions topped the Sharks. The overall series currently stands at 31-6 with NSU in favor.

 
UP NEXT
 
The Sharks will remain on the road this Saturday to take on the Eckerd Tritons as 2:00 p.m. in St. Petersburg, Fla.
 
 
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