MELBOURNE, Fla. - The twentieth-ranked Nova Southeastern Women's Basketball team kept their win streak alive on Saturday afternoon at the Charles and Ruth Clemente Center, taking down Florida Tech for their eighth consecutive victory. Aubrey Stupp led the way with a game-high 22 points.
SCORE: No. 20 Nova Southeastern 72, Florida Tech 45
RECORDS: No. 20 Nova Southeastern 15-2, 8-1 SSC, Florida Tech 5-10, 2-7 SSC
LOCATION: Charles and Ruth Clemente Center | Melbourne, Fla.
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First Half – Florida Tech jumped out to a quick 6-2 lead before five consecutive points from Michaela Cloonan, Payton Graber, and Aubrey Stupp put the Sharks ahead 7-6. Both teams continued to hunker down defensively throughout the rest of the quarter as NSU took an 11-10 lead going into the second quarter. At the 8:21 mark, Payton Graber jump-started an 8-2 Shark run, which was capped off by a layup from Mercedes Simmons to put NSU ahead 20-15. Stupp would then close out the scoring in the second quarter for NSU, knocking down four free throws towards the end of the half to give the Sharks a two-point advantage going into the halftime break.
Second Half – NSU kicked off the second half with an 11-2 run to go up 34-25 with 6:57 left to play in the quarter. The Panthers clawed their way back, but the Sharks electric offense continued to give themselves a cushion as they held onto a 50-37 advantage going into the final frame. With 6:46 left to play, NSU would go on a 17-5 run to close out the game and ultimately take down the Florida Tech Panthers 72-45 on the road.
Head Coach LeAnn Freeland-Curry - Our players did a great job staying focused throughout a very physical game. We made adjustments in the second half and had multiple players step up to help us find our offensive rhythm. Alana, Aubrey and Mercedes dominated in the second half to help us pull out a big road win.
Mercedes Simmons - It was a physical game and they were persistent in the way they played, not once did they give up but we were able to stay together, play our game, and secure another Sharks win!
Aubrey Stupp – 22 points, two steals
Mercedes Simmons – 14 points
Alana Ellis – 12 points
Nova Southeastern will be back to the Shark Tank for a top-25 matchup against SSC foe, Embry Riddle, on Wednesday, January 22nd. Tip-off is set for 5:30 PM.
