CLEVELAND, Miss. – The Nova Southeastern women's basketball team got off to a slow start to the season, falling to Union University, 77-56, at Walter Sillers Coliseum in Cleveland, Miss. on Friday evening in the first game of the GSC/SSC Crossover Challenge.
 
INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
FINAL: L, 56-77
RECORDS: Nova Southeastern Sharks (0-1), Union Bulldogs (1-0)
LOCATION: Walter Sillers Coliseum | Cleveland, Miss.
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HOW IT HAPPENED:
1ST QUARTER | The Bulldogs made each of their first three shots, including back-to-back 3-pointers, in the game's first 85 seconds, forcing the Sharks into a very quick timeout. NSU finally scored its first points during their fifth possession a minute later, when Skyla Osceola hit a 3-pointer of her own. The Sharks drew the game as close as three points (14-11) with less than a minute left in the quarter, but the Bulldogs scored four more points in the final 19 seconds to push their lead back out, forcing the Sharks to battle from behind for the remaining three quarters.
 
2ND QUARTER | Union scored five in a row to start the second period to take the first double-digit lead of the game, at 23-11. The Sharks faced their largest deficit of the half at 34-16 with two minutes remaining, before Jordan Tully scored five all by herself to trim it down to 15 at halftime, 36-21.
 
3RD QUARTER | An 11-3 Sharks run got the NSU within single digits, at 41-32, ever so briefly, but the Bulldogs responded with an 11-2 run of their own to put the game back at a distance, as the Sharks trailed 54-38 heading into the final period of play.
 
4TH QUARTER | The defense allowed seven points to Union to start the frame, putting the Sharks in a 20-point hole for the first time. The Sharks scored seven in a row themselves, and the game oscillated around the 20-point mark until the final buzzer.
 
INSIDE THE STATS:
 

• Jordan Tully led the team with 21 points on 8-of-18 shooting, collecting seven board and two steals, as well. Six of her field goals came after halftime out of 10 attempts.
• Despite not attempting a shot in nine first-half minutes, Hailey Conley came out strong in the second half, with 16 points, including 4-for-9 from 3-point range, while the rest of the team shot just 1-of-15 from deep. Conley also led the team with eight rebounds and picked up a pair of steals.
• Claire McMahon was the Sharks' third double-digit scorer, with 12 points, half of which came at the foul line. She added five rebounds and two assists to her line.
• The Sharks shot just 23 percent (6-26) from the field in the first half, and 1-for-11 from long distance. By comparison, the Bulldogs made 42 percent (14-of-33) of their first half field goals, including three of nine three-point attempts, while out-rebounding the Sharks 25-16.

 
UP NEXT:
The Sharks will conclude their slate of the GSC/SSC Crossover Challenge when they take on host Delta State on Saturday evening, with tipoff set for 8:00 p.m. CST/9:00 EST.
 
SHARKS ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Follow along with live updates on Twitter by following @NSU_WBasketball.