Box Score BOCA RATON, Fla.- Lynn University's women's basketball team trailed by 18 points in the second half but rallied back against the 11th-ranked Sharks of Nova Southeastern University (10-2, 2-1 SSC) in Sunshine State Conference action on Wednesday night. A late 9-0 run sparked the Fighting Knights comeback in the second half but NSU held on to win 78-74 handing Lynn its third SSC loss, all to nationally ranked teams. The Fighting Knights (5-6, 0-3) will host Eckerd on Saturday in conference play.
Nova Southeastern rushed off to a 12-3 lead in the opening minutes but Lynn cut the deficit to four with a 5-0 run to trail 12-8 with 15:59 to play. NSU would slowly pull away to lead by eight with 13:02 on the clock but Lynn got within two, 18-16, with a jumper by Nelson-James at 10:53. A 9-0 run would out the Sharks ahead by their biggest margin thus far of 11 with 8:48 to go. The Fighting Knights went on a 12-0 run over the next five minutes to take a 28-27 lead with 3:51 left in the half. The Blue & White led by as many as five in the final minutes but a buzzer-beating jumper by Jasmine Wilkins would knot the score 37-all heading into the break.
Wilkins led all scorers with 13 points and six rebounds for the Sharks and Shay Harris had a team-best 10 points for the Fighting Knights. Lynn edged NSU 20-18 in rebounds and shot 41.2 percent from the field as Nova Southeastern shot 41.4 percent and 41.7 percent from three-point range. The Blue & White scored 22 points in the paint and 25 off the bench. Sharneka McCatty had nine points for Lynn and Nelson-James had eight.
The Sharks came out hot in the second half and led 63-46 before a layup by Destiny Brown would end the NSU run. The Fighting Knights trailed by 15, 65-50, with nine minutes remaining in regulation. The Blue & White went on a 9-0 run to bring the score within eight points. Lynn was within two points in the final minute but Nova held off the Fighting Knights for a 78-74 win.
Lynn improved to shoot 45.2 percent in the second half and 41.3 percent overall in the loss. McCatty had 15 points, six of which came in the second half. Nova Southeastern shot 44.4 percent from the field in the final 20 minutes and had four plays score in double-figures in their second SSC win of the season.
The Blue & White returns to action on Saturday, January 10, versus Eckerd. Tip-off is slated for 2 pm as the Fighting Knights look for their first SSC win of the season. To follow the women's basketball team all season long, log on to LynnFightingKnights.com. Don't forget to 'Like' us on Facebook and follow @Lynn_Knights on Twitter and Instagram.
