[Fort Lauderdale, FL] - Despite a defense that forced 31 Nova Southeastern turnovers, the Shaw women's basketball team could not find a shooting touch - especially from beyond the three-point arc - and fell to the Sharks 69-54.

With the loss, the Lady Bears drop to 1-2 on the season, while the win breaks a two-game losing streak for the Sharks and gives them a 7-3 record on the season.

While the Lady Bears did force the 31 turnovers, they committed 19 of their own and struggled under the NSU bucket, giving up 18 offensive rebounds.    Even more telling, the Lady Bears shot only 19 percent (eight for 42) in the second half. 

For the game, the Lady Bears shot only 28 percent (21 for 75) and went zero for 11 from the three-point line.  By comparison, the Sharks shot 15 fewer shots, but made one more, for a 37.3 completion percentage.

The Sharks led most of the game - running off ten points to take a 16-6 lead early.  While the Lady Bears cut the lead to as little as one in the second half, they could never tie nor go ahead in the game.  In the final minutes, NSU pulled ahead for the 14-point victory.

The first half was sloppy for both teams, with the Sharks committing 20 turnovers and the Lady Bears 14.  After being tied at six, NSU reeled off ten straight points to build the lead to 16-6. 

The Sharks continued their strong outside shooting as well collecting offensive rebounds, eventually building the lead to 15, 30-15.

The Lady Bears found their footing and started pounding the ball inside, where they had the height advantage.  Powered by Aslea Williams, Shaw scored eight straight points to cut the lead to seven with 5:36 left in the half. 

While NSU's shooting hand cooled in the closing minutes - and Shaw's heated up - the teams went into the locker room at the half with NSU still leading by seven, 39-32.

After giving up an NSU three to open the second, the Lady Bears scored nine straight to cut the lead to one, 42-41. 

With 7:57 left in the half, Brittney Spencer took the ball the length of the court for a layup, cutting the NSU lead to 52-50.  The Sharks then tallied 11 straight points over the next two and a half minutes to put the game out of reach.

Williams (left) was the leading scorer for the Lady Bears with 22 points while Victoria Tanner (right) had 13.  Williams had a career-high 17 rebounds for the double-double. 

Jada Buckner and Meixandra Porter had 14 points apiece to lead the Sharks.  Richelle Carach added another 12.  Carach had a double-double of her own, pulling in 13 rebounds.

The Lady Bears continue a four-game Florida swing with a game Thursday at Lynn College.  Tip is at 5:30 p.m.