FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Four Sharks scored in double figures, as No. 15 Nova Southeastern never relinquished the lead in a strong all-round performance picking up the 81-66 victory over Bentley Monday night at the Rick Case Arena.

INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
SCORE: W, 81-66
RECORDS: No. 15 Nova Southeastern University Sharks (1-2), Bentley University (2-2)
LOCATION: The Rick Case Arena | Fort Lauderdale, Fla.  
FOLLOW US: @NSUSHARKS on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:
1ST QUARTER | After both teams failed to score on their first two possessions, a layup by Claire McMahon opened up the scoring for NSU. The Sharks mounted an impressive 10-0 run to start the match highlighted by back-to-back successful three's by Hailey Conley. Nova Southeastern led by as much as 12 points in the quarter after Jordan Tully and Janiffer Rodriguez both hit jumpers, pushing the score to 14-2. Tully was a perfect 4-of-4 from the field and knocked down both opportunities at the line en route to a team high 10 points in the quarter. After not scoring in the first 3:13, the Falcons began to chip away at the deficit as a strong final push to end the quarter resulted in a 19-9 run, closing the gap with the Sharks on top by two points, 23-21.
 
2ND QUARTER | A layup by Iva Ilic began a 5-0 start for the Sharks opening up the second. Consecutive three pointers by McMahon pushed the lead back up to 11 with 2:04 to play. The Sharks held the Falcons scoreless for 5:19 to open up the frame, showcasing some stingy defensive play. Both teams would trade baskets before a layup with 0:03 by Bentley cut the deficit to nine. The Sharks outplayed the Falcons in the quarter by a 15-8 margin, capitalizing for seven points off five Bentley turnovers. NSU also was +4 in the paint in the second frame as the Sharks continued to lead it 38-29 at the break.

3RD QUARTER | After a three pointer by Esabelle Levine put the Sharks back up by 11, the Falcons managed to cut the deficit to just two points. A 9-0 run forced head coach LeAnn Freeland-Curry to call a timeout at the 5:30 mark. A successful drive to the basket by Conley was capped off by the and-one foul shot to put the Sharks back up by five. The Falcons kept plugging along trimming the lead to just one for NSU with 2:17 to play but that would be the closest they get to taking the lead the entire night. After Tully hit both of her free throws, Annie Santucci drove to the hoop with a great finish to put NSU back up by five. After Bentley hit one-of-two free throws, a layup by Levine with 0:32 to play put the Sharks ahead by six, leading 51-45 going into the final frame.
 
4TH QUARTER | The Sharks took advantage of a Bentley squad who was playing its second game in three days, increasing its lead to a game high 17 points following a trifecta by Ilic with 4:33 to play, capping off a 13-1 run. The Falcons could not find a way back in the game as the Sharks only mounted two misses in the entire frame to capture their first victory of the year in impressive fashion, 81-66.

INSIDE THE STATS:

• Levine scored a game-high 18 points, 11 of which came in the team's 30-point fourth quarter, as she shot 4-of-5 from the field, including 3-for-4 from long distance, and collected eight rebounds. Her point and rebound totals were both the top marks of her brief Sharks career.
• McMahon notched her first double-double as a Shark with 13 points and 10 rebounds. She made four of her eight field goal attempts, and all three from beyond the arc, and brought down seven of her rebounds in the second half.
• Tully also scored 13 points, with 10 at the end of a perfect first half in which she didn't miss any of her four field goals or two free throws. She also had a pair of blocks and steals.
• Ilic scored a dozen points on 4-7 shooting and dished out a team-high five assists, matching her personal best.
• In her second game as a Shark, Santucci scored for the first time, with five points in seven second-half minutes without a miss.
• Facing a team that finished 28-4 last season, with winning streaks of 13 and 15 games, the Sharks never trailed, leading from McMahon's layup 40 seconds in until the final buzzer.
• The Sharks were nearly unstoppable on offense in the fourth quarter, missing just three shots. They were 9-for-11 (81.8%) from the field, 7-of-8 (87.5%) from deep, and 5-for-6 (83.3%) at the free throw line.
• The Falcons shot just 26% (5-of-19) from 3-point range in the game, missing 11 in a row at one point, going over 26 minutes of game action between makes.

BEYOND THE BOXSCORE:

• The 30 points scored in the fourth represents the team's highest scoring quarter since putting up 35 in the second period of the NCAA South Regional semifinal victory over West Florida on March 16.
• Their 53.8% (28-52) field goal percentage for the game is their highest since 55.6% (30-54) in an 82-61 win over Embry-Riddle on Jan. 26.
• The 57.1% (12-21) mark from 3-point range is their best since Feb. 16, when they shot 57.9% (11-19) in a 78-63 victory against Florida Tech.
• The 10-0 run to start the game was their best since jumping out to an 11-0 lead against Concordia on Dec. 18, 2018, keeping their opponent off the scoreboard until three minutes in, before coming up two points shy of the program's all-time record for points in a game with a dominating 108-46 win.

UP NEXT: 
The Sharks will take an extended break from the Rick Case Arena as the team will head out for a four-game road trip. NSU will begin by opening up SSC play with the Sharks traveling to Tampa this Saturday to take on the Spartans at 2:00 p.m.
 
SHARKS ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Follow along with live updates on Twitter by following @NSU_WBasketball. Also, follow on Facebook at /nsuwbasketball and Instagram with the handle @NSU_WBasketball.