COLUMBUS, Ohio – Taking on the nation's last remaining undefeated team and No. 1 seed in the 2019 NCAA Division II Elite Eight, the Nova Southeastern women's basketball team ended their 2018-19 season on Tuesday evening, falling 90-61 to the Drury Panthers.
 
"It's been quite a journey, we had a very difficult schedule throughout the whole season and we had three players who joined us in December and it really changed everything," head coach LeAnn Freeland-Curry explained when asked about the season. "Overall, I think we had a tremendous season and I feel like we were playing our best basketball down the stretch. I don't think we played our best game today and on this stage you have to be ready to play. Drury's the team that just takes you out of your game. I'm just very proud of the team, and we have five amazing seniors who were great down the stretch, and are basically the reason why we're here."
 
INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
FINAL: L, 60-91
RECORDS: Drury University Panthers (35-0), Nova Southeastern University Sharks (21-12)
LOCATION: Alumni Hall | Columbus, Ohio
FOLLOW US: @NSUSHARKS on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:
 
1ST QUARTER | The Panthers were the first to reach the board with a jumper 10 seconds in, before Jordan Tully responded with a layup at the 9:32 mark to knot the game. After another basket by the Panthers, buckets by Katie Barnard and Tully gave NSU its lone lead of the game, 6-4. Drury used a 4-0 run of their own to take back the lead. The Sharks were able to tie the game twice more, 8-8 and 10-10, before Drury used an 11-5 run to take a six-point lead into the second.
 
2ND QUARTER | A three-pointer by Claire McMahon brought it back down to three points to open up the second, and after a layup by the Panthers, a layup by McMahon and a pair of made free throws by Hughes cut it down to just one point, 23-22 at the 7:38 mark. From there, Drury exploded on a 18-2 run to close out the quarter and take a 40-27 advantage at halftime.
 
3RD QUARTER | NSU was able to cut Drury's lead down to single digits with a jumper by Tully at the 5:47 mark and again at the 4:53 mark with yet another layup by Tully, to make it 50-41. From there, the Panthers continued to put the pressure on the Sharks, going up by as many as 19 with a minute to go. At the end of the quarter, a layup by Tully brought it to 63-46 with one frame to go.
 
4TH QUARTER | A 14-0 opening run by the Panthers sealed NSU's fate, as Drury was able to stay out by at least 27 points in the final 10 minutes of play.
 
INSIDE THE STATS:
 

• Tully led all Sharks with 19 points, shooting 9-of-10 from the field while also pulling down six rebounds.
• Hughes was next with 13 points, also recording three steals and three rebounds.
• McMahon was the final Shark in double digits with 10, while also making three steals and gathering four boards.
• Christen Prasse registered seven rebounds and eight assists, both team-highs.
• Mikayla Thompson had five rebounds.
• As a team, NSU shot 52.3 percent from the field, compared to Drury's 46.8 percent.
• The Sharks committed 40 turnovers, and were out-rebounded offensively 21-6.

 
BEYOND THE BOXSCORE:
 

• Hughes made it to the century mark for three pointers, tallying two in tonight's game, pushing her Shark career's made three-pointers to exactly 100.

 
 
SHARKS ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
 
Follow along with live updates on Twitter by following @NSU_WBasketball.