Courtesy of Nova Southeastern University Sports Information Department

Fort Lauderdale, FL (12/17/08)  The Dominican College women's basketball team fell to Nova Southeastern University, 60-78, in both teams first game of the Cruzin' Classic at the University Center.

Stephanie Sarosi (Mims, FL) scored a game-high 25 points, while Eliza Allen (Hegenheim, France) and Abbie Tepe (Cincinnati, OH) added 19 and 14, respectively.  Behind by 15-for-25 shooting, the Sharks hit 60 percent of their shots in the first half. NSU's offense started the game with a 6-0 run that included two layups from Sarosi and a pair of free throws by Lindsey Newpher (Depew, OK). Dominican answered with a 5-0 run of its own to make it a one-point game at the 16:03 mark. However, Allen came off the bench and carried the Sharks on an 8-2 run that gave NSU a 14-7 advantage with 11:36 remaining in the first half.

The Chargers quickly trimmed NSU's lead down to two with a Shalissa Burgess (Englewood, NJ) jumper and a Meghan Murphy (Carmel, NY) trey, but the Sharks' offense kept finding its spark. NSU eventually built its lead to 11 as Allen, who was 5-for-7 from beyond the arc for the game, sank a three to make it a 31-20 game at 6:52. The Sharks ultimately pushed their lead to 15 with a pair of Newpher free throws giving NSU the 37-22 edge.

Dominican pulled to within 12 on two occasions, but another set of Newpher free throws as well as a pair from Tepe put NSU up 43-27 with 37 seconds left in the half. The Sharks ultimately entered the break with a 43-29 lead.

The Sharks maintained a sizable lead throughout the entire second half as the closest Dominican could get was within seven. NSU took an early 15-point, 46-31 lead off a Newpher trey. The Chargers gradually cut into NSU's lead and used back-to-back jumpers from Kaity Lent (Vineland, NJ) to make it a seven-point, 50-43 NSU lead with 16:39 to go.

After the teams traded buckets, a layup by Tepe sparked an 8-0 run that allowed NSU to regain a 15-point advantage and make it a 60-45 game with 12:51 remaining.

Dominican ultimately made it a 10-point game on three different occasions, including using a Marly Klunk (York, PA) layup at 4:43 to make it 69-59 in favor of NSU. However, the Sharks closed out the game with a 9-1 run.

Overall for the game, NSU shot a season-best 51.9 percent from the field (27for-52), while Dominican was 33.3 percent (24-for-72). The Sharks held a 47-38 advantage over the Chargers in rebounds. NSU also totaled eight blocks.

To go along with her 25 points, Sarosi grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds for her fourth double-double of the season. Erin Zampell (Naples, FL) recorded a game-high four blocks.

Lent led Dominican with 16 points, while Althea Chambers (Yonkers, NY) totaled a team-high seven caroms and a game-high five steals.

With the loss the Lady Chargers fall to 4-3 overall.  Dominican is back in action tomorrow when they take on the University of Central Missouri at the Cruzin' Classic.  Game time is set for 8pm on the campus of Barry University.