FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The Nova Southeastern University women's basketball team continued their recent run of dominant play at the Rick Case Arena, disposing of their Sunshine State Conference opponent Florida Tech Panthers with ease, by a score of 78-63 on Saturday afternoon.
 
INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
FINAL: W, 78-63
RECORDS: Nova Southeastern University Sharks (15-9, 11-6 SSC), Florida Institute of Technology Panthers (7-17, 3-13 SSC)
LOCATION: Rick Case Arena | Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
FOLLOW US: @NSUSHARKS on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:
 
1ST QUARTER | The Sharks hit a pair of baskets, a layup by Jordan Tully and a three-pointer by Alison Hughes, to start the scoring. Leading 7-4 two and a half minutes in, they exploded out on a 12-2 run to take a 13-point lead with under three minutes left. The Panthers missed all ten of their shots during the run, going over five minutes between field goals, while Hughes hit two more three-pointers on back-to-back possessions, giving her a game-high nine points after just seven minutes of action in the opening frame. The Panthers ended the quarter with five points in the final 42 seconds to bring the Sharks' lead down to 11, at 24-13.
 
2ND QUARTER | The Panthers cut the lead down to six twice midway through the quarter, the second time with 3:34 left. This sparked something in the Sharks, however, as they made their next six field goals to end the half on a 15-1 run, for a then game-high 20-point lead, 43-23. Sarah Kelly contributed a pair of three-pointers for a team-high seven points in the quarter in just three minutes of play, while Iva Ilic added a pair of layups. The Sharks shot 58.3 percent (7-of-12) as a team in the period, outscoring Florida Tech 16-0 off the bench and 6-0 on the fast break, as well as 18-0 off turnovers for the entire first half.
 
3RD QUARTER | Nova Southeastern continued to take the lead higher out of halftime, extending it to 26 points (61-35) by the end of the frame. Christen Prasse scored seven of her points in the quarter, and the Sharks shot 3-for-5 from three-point range as a team.
 
4TH QUARTER | Florida Tech scored 28 points on 10-of-15 shooting in the final period, to trim the margin by 11 points by the end of the game, but it was too little, too late. The Panthers started the quarter on a 6-0 run over the first 1:17, but couldn't bring their deficit below 20 over more than halfway through. FIT also ended the game on a 9-2 run against the Sharks' bench to bring the game to its final score, 78-63.
 
INSIDE THE STATS:
 

• Hughes led five Sharks in double figures with 12 points, nine of which came in the first quarter. She also shot 4-of-5 from three-point range, continuing to improve her SSC-leading total and percentage.
• Ilic, Kelly, Prasse, and Tully were not far behind with 10 points each. Prasse also had game-highs with seven assists and three steals, while Kelly, despite coming into the game having scored only 21 points and shooting just 32 percent from the field and 1-of-9 from deep, was a perfect 3-for-3, all her attempts coming from beyond the arc.
• Prasse, Claire McMahon, and Mikayla Thompson shared the team lead with five rebounds each. McMahon also added two blocks to her team-leading season total.

 
BEYOND THE BOXSCORE:
 

• Since losing back-to-back games to Florida Tech and Eckerd by a total of four points, the Sharks have won eight of their last ten games, including six in a row at the Rick Case Arena. They have won each of those six home games by double digits, for an average margin of victory of 20.7.
• The Sharks led by double-digits at the end of the first quarter for the fourth consecutive home game and the seventh home game total this season. During that four game stretch, they have averaged 23.5 points in the first quarter, while allowing just 10.5.
• Shooting 11-of-19 from long range, the Sharks' 57.9 percent three-point percentage is the team's highest on the year, and the best since Nov. 17, 2017, when they were 10-of-16 (62.5 percent) against Tampa.
• Hughes' 73 three-pointers made this season are the fourth-best in program history, just two short of her total of 75 from last season and four behind Meixandra Porter's 77 from 2012-13. The all-time record belongs to Taylor Buie, who hit 95 in the 2013-14 season.

 
 
UP NEXT:
 
The Sharks will hit the road for their last two SSC road contests of the season, starting on Wednesday evening, when they take on the Lynn Fighting Knights at 5:30 p.m. in Boca Raton.
 
 
SHARKS ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
 
Follow along with live updates on Twitter by following @NSU_WBasketball.