FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - Kaliyah Morales scored 18 points and Bridie McCann added 12, but it wasn't enough as #4 Nova Southeastern suffered a 79-65 setback against Eckerd College. The Sharks made a run late in the second half but ultimately were unable to overcome the Tritons.



Score: #4 Nova Southeastern 65 | Eckerd 79
Records: #4 Nova Southeastern 19-1 (11-1 SSC) | Eckerd 15-4 (10-2 SSC)
Location: Crutchfield Court at Rick Case Arena | Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
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The Tritons got off to a 6-2 lead and led 11-4 at the first media timeout, thanks to a three-pointer from Ieva Korzane and a layup from Emma Egan. The Sharks responded with three-pointers from Bridie McCann and Kaliyah Morales, but buckets from Korzane and Jaylen Ostenson put the Tritons up 20-10 with 1:48 remaining. Eckerd led 25-13 after one.

The Tritons took a 30-13 lead at the 7:00 mark of the second quarter, forcing an NSU timeout. The Sharks struggled to score during the period, and Eckerd later went up by 22, but NSU responded with a three from McCann and a free throw from Markayla Holland. The Sharks forced consecutive turnovers on a charge and bad pass, but Eckerd took a 41-20 lead into the half. Hailey Chiles scored a last-second layup for the Sharks to give them some momentum going into the locker room.

NSU began the second half with back-to-back steals and scores from Chiles and Morales. However, the Tritons regrouped and pushed their lead back to 20 and maintained that advantage through the media timeout. The Sharks did outscore Eckerd 22-20 in the quarter, but the Tritons still led 61-42 at the end of three.

The Sharks kept fighting and cut the deficit to 13 twice down the stretch. McCann hit a three-pointer at the 2:03 mark to cut the lead to 73-60, and Morales later hit two layups to cut it to 77-65. The Tritons emerged victorious 79-65 after two final free throws from Ostenson.




The Sharks will hit the road and face off against Tampa on January 31 at 2:00 PM. To stay up-to-date on Sharks Women's Basketball, be sure to follow on Instagram and Twitter/X at NSU_WBasketball.