FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Despite a host of obstacles in their way -- trailing 56-39 in the third quarter, 66% field goal shooting by the Tampa Spartans, and a record-low 14 rebounds – the Nova Southeastern women's basketball team almost pulled off a stunner and were in position to tie or take the lead for much of latter half of the fourth period, but in the end, they fell one point shy, 67-66, in Sunshine State Conference action at the Rick Case Arena on Saturday afternoon.

INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
FINAL: L, 67-66 RECORDS: Nova Southeastern Sharks (10-8, 6-5 SSC), Tampa Spartans (14-3, 11-0 SSC)
LOCATION: Rick Case Arena | Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
FOLLOW US: @NSUSHARKS on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube

HOW IT HAPPENED:

1ST QUARTER | The teams traded buckets on each of their first two possessions, with the Sharks down 5-4 after 76 seconds, but that would be as close as they get until the fourth, as the Spartans followed a missed a jumper with an offensive rebound and proceeded to go on a 12-0 run and make their next 10 field goals. The Sharks finally ended their four-and-a-half-minute drought with a 3-pointer by Sarah Kelly and an old-fashioned 3-point play for Jordan Tully to cut the lead back down to nine, 19-10, before Tampa got it up to double-digit territory again for the rest of the quarter.

2ND QUARTER | The lead oscillated between eight and 12 points for much of the quarter, as the two squads primarily went back-and-forth, save for a pair of Maria Bardeeva field goals halfway through and a 3-pointer and a layup towards the end that got the lead back up to 13, where it stood as the teams entered the locker rooms, with the Sharks trailing, 46-33.

3RD QUARTER | The Sharks were unable to put any real dent in the margin until the Spartans got the lead to a game-high 17 points, at 56-39, with 3:33 remaining. From there, the defense forced a missed jumper and three straight turnovers to end the period, which allowed the offense to score eight unanswered points, with five from Tully, including her third 3-pointer in the last four games, and a Hailey Conley layup at the end of the frame got the Sharks within single digits once again, with the score at 56-47 going into the final ten minutes.

4TH QUARTER | Back-to-back 3-pointers for Kelly kicked off another 8-0 run, as the defense forced four turnovers in five possessions, and Maria Bardeeva capped it with a layup to make it a one-possession game, at 58-55, with the Sharks scoring 16 of the last 18 points over a span of 7:05. After a Spartan layup stemmed the tide, Tully responded with a layup and the ensuing free throw for a 60-58 score. Kelly followed a Tampa jumper with her third trey of the quarter at 3:41, and the teams were separated by just one point (62-61) for the first time since those 76 opening seconds. The Spartans, however, responded with a 3-pointer of their own and another layup to lead by six, 67-61, with 2:29 left. Those would be the last points they would score, though, as Conley hit a pair at the stripe, and after the defense forced the first of three straight missed jumpers, Tully hit another layup to draw within two with 1:45 on the clock. She then followed the second miss by drawing a foul with just 39 seconds to go and a chance to tie the game. She made the front end, but missed the second, keeping the score at 67-66. Esabelle Levine rebounded the third miss and raced down the court for a potential game-winner, but her 3-pointer from NBA range went wide left and the Spartans emerged from the loose-ball scuffle with the board, extinguishing the Sharks' hope of completing their miraculous comeback.

STATS OF THE NIGHT:

• Tully had her fifth consecutive 20-point game, finishing with 22 points on 9-of-14 from the field.
• Bardeeva scored 12 points on 6-of-9 shooting in the first half but was unable to sustain her pace, making just one of four attempts after the break, though she did pick off three steals in the second half to aid in the Sharks' comeback attempt.
• Sarah Kelly had her best game since her mid-season return last year, with 12 points on a perfect 4-for-4 shooting effort, all from beyond the arc, in addition to three assists. She set a new career-high for 3-pointers made and tied her field goals mark, while coming just two points short of best scoring output of 14, from Jan. 2, 2016.
• Hailey Conley had 10 points and a team-high five rebounds but was 0-for-5 from long distance, her first game all season in which she attempted at least one 3-pointer without making any.
• The Spartans shot 65.9% from the field for the game, and 50% or better in all four quarters, including a seemingly-impossible 12-of-13 (92.3%) in the first.
• The Spartans had 12 of their 19 turnovers in the second half, compared to just four by the Sharks, resulting in a 12-4 NSU advantage in points off turnovers after halftime. Overall, the Sharks won the forced turnover battle, 19-6, and the points off turnover battle, 16-6.
• Tampa dominated the boards, 32-14, and had 11 second-chance points, while the Sharks had just two. The first half ended with a 18-5 Spartans advantage, including 5-2 on the offensive end and a whopping 13-3 defensively, as the Sharks didn't have their first defensive rebound of the game until 1:30 into the second quarter. The second half was a much closer 14-9, though not enough for the Sharks to avoid their lowest rebounding total in program history, which was previously 18, set against Lee on Nov. 25, 2017.

UP NEXT:
The Sharks will get a week off to recover before they host the Saint Leo Lions on Saturday, February 1, with tip-off from the Rick Case Arena set for 4:00 p.m. to accommodate the next day's Super Bowl LIV. The previous meeting was a close battle, with the Sharks emerging victorious, 70-67, after Sarah Kelly made the game-winning buzzer-beater put-back.

SHARKS ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
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