FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Coming into the game averaging less than three points and ten minutes per game, Makenna Drabick, with the ball in her hands, the seconds winding down, and the game on the line, made the most of her opportunity by making just her second 3-pointer of the season to help the Nova Southeastern Sharks women's basketball team defeat Ohio Dominican University, 70-68, at the Rick Case Arena on Friday afternoon.

INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
FINAL: W, 70-68
RECORDS: Nova Southeastern Sharks (5-4), Ohio Dominican Panthers (5-7)
LOCATION: Rick Case Arena | Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
FOLLOW US: @NSUSHARKS on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube

HOW IT HAPPENED:

1ST QUARTER | Both offenses started out slowly, with one point combined on the game's first nine possessions. It took almost a minute for the Panthers to score that first point, and nearly two and a half minutes had gone by before Skyla Osceola made the first field goal of the game, snapping an 0-for-7 start between the two teams. The Panthers scored eight in a row over the next minute to take an early 9-2 lead, forcing the Sharks to regroup during a timeout, before Iva Ilic sparked the Sharks with a 3-pointer out of the break. Still down six at the four-minute mark, Jordan Tully converted an old-fashioned 3-point play and Janiffer Rodriguez hit a layup to get within one, but the Sharks would have to wait to retake the lead, as the Panthers answered with a pair of field goals. Claire McMahon sank two at the line, and Hailey Conley's half-court heave at the buzzer for a 17-all tie was just off the mark.

2ND QUARTER | The teams traded points to begin the quarter, with McMahon making it a one-point game twice with layups, but a long scoring drought ensued, and the game stayed at 21-20 for just over three minutes, as they combined for nine straight empty possessions. Both teams turned the ball over three times, while the Panthers missed four layups and the Sharks two. Ilic finally ended the stalemate, with a jumper, then added her second from long distance just 22 seconds later, and the Sharks had just their second lead of the day, as well as their largest. The Panthers gave them just 82 seconds to enjoy that lead, recovering a pair of 3-pointers of their own. Maria Bardeeva tied the game at 27 at the line, then Sarah Kelly did the same at 29 with a layup, but an ODU and-1 proved to be the last points of the half, as a couple of late turnovers and a missed jumper thwarted any hopes of scoring, and the Sharks faced the same 3-point deficit going into the locker room, this time 32-29.

3RD QUARTER | The Sharks scored the first seven out of halftime, with Conley getting on the board for the first time with each of the first five, tying the game with a 3-pointer and regaining the lead with a layup. Tully scored the team's next six points to keep pace with Ohio Dominican, as a span of just three minutes of action saw four ties and six lead changes, with the lead bouncing back and forth and neither team scoring twice in a row. The sixth tie of the frame, at 49-apiece, came from a Conley 3-pointer with 2:08 left, but that would their last score until the buzzer. Turnovers on each of the final three possession gave them eight for the period, despite an efficient 8-for-11 from the field, while the Panthers added two at the line and two more on a layup to maintain the lead, 53-49, entering the final quarter.

4TH QUARTER | Ilic and Conley each sank treys in the first 46 seconds for the first of four ties in the final period, at 55-55. Drabick scored her first points on a layup for a 57-all tie, giving the Sharks all ten players who appeared on the scoreboard. Ties at 59 and 61 followed, before Tully made a pair of layups to match the largest lead of the game with just under three minutes to go. A pair of turnovers and a missed layup allowed the Panthers to take a 66-65 lead on a 3-pointer with 1:12 remaining. On the ensuing possession, Tully hit her third layup in less than three minutes to put the Sharks back on top, but Ohio Dominican answered back with a jumper for another one-point lead. Head Coach Leann Freeland-Curry called timeout to draw up a potential game-winning play, but out of the inbound, the Sharks were seemingly blocked in all directions. That is, until Rodriguez started driving to the basket for a possible layup, but saw the double-team closing in, and instead found Drabick all alone in the corner. Her shot got nothing but net, and the Panthers had just one second left to try to design a play of their own but came up empty.

To view the game highlights CLICK HERE.

INSIDE THE STATS:

• Tully scored a team-high 17 points, shooting 7-of-9 from the field, while also contributing a pair of blocks. She scored half a dozen of her points in each of the final two quarters and was a perfect 4-for-4 until the last five minutes of the game. She has reached double digits in all but one game and two blocks in three in a row, in addition to shooting 63.5% from the field and 82.2% at the line on the year.
• Ilic poured in 13 points off the bench, making 5-of-8 from the floor and 3-of-5 from long distance. It's her fourth time this season in double figures and her fifth game with two or more 3-pointers made.
• Conley, meanwhile, made multiple shots from deep for the seventh time in nine games, with at least three in five of those, and five or more rebounds for the fifth game, as well. She had all 11 of her points in the second half, when she shot 4-of-6 and 3-for-5 from long range.
• McMahon finished just short of her second double-double of the year, with 8 points and 9 rebounds, and didn't miss a single shot in the process. She was a perfect 3-for-3 on field goals and 2-for-2 on free throws.
• Rodriguez entered the game with just seven career assists in 202 minutes, but the sophomore dished out nine in this game in 26 minutes, just one off her career high.
• After shooting just 33.3 percent from the floor and 16.7 percent from 3-point range in the opening frame, the offense rebounded to shoot 50 percent or better in each of the final three quarters, at a combined rate of 57.5 percent and 46.2 percent, respectively. On the flipside, Ohio Dominican made 41.2 percent of their first quarter, but they were under 40 percent in other three periods and just 36.2 percent combined. Overall the Sharks shot 51.9 percent from the field, compared to the Panthers' 37.5 percent. The home squad also had a significant edge in 2-pointers: 60.6 percent to 38.6 percent.
• Despite forcing the Sharks into 22 turnovers, the Panthers were only able to turn that into 16 points, including just nine points on 17 turnovers from the second quarter on. The Sharks also won on second-chance points, 9-8, despite a 9-5 ODU edge in offensive rebounds.
• The game saw a total of 12 ties and 17 lead changes, with 10 and 13, respectively, in the second half.

UP NEXT:
The Sharks will conclude the 2019 Shark Holiday Classic, and with it, the 2019 calendar year, against the University of Findlay on Saturday at 2:00 p.m. The Oilers defeated the Barry Buccaneers 89-78 to begin their weekend. 

SHARKS ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
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