FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - Celeste Reed led five Sharks in double figures with 12 points, and Markayla Holland added a near double-double with 11 points and nine rebounds as #12 Nova Southeastern defeated Seattle Pacific 88-69 on Black Friday. The Sharks moved to 6-0 on the young season and won the opening game of the NSU Thanksgiving Classic.



Score: #12 Nova Southeastern 88 | Seattle Pacific 69
Records: #12 Nova Southeastern 6-0 (1-0 SSC) | Seattle Pacific 1-4 (0-0 GNAC)
Location: Crutchfield Court at Rick Case Arena | Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
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The Sharks blitzed the Falcons, as they raced out to an early 12-3 lead. NSU's run featured an and-one from Kaliyah Morales, two steals and two baskets from Holland, and another jumper from Morales before the Falcons called timeout. NSU stretched their lead to 15 points after the media timeout before SPU finally responded with a three-pointer. However, Bridie McCann hit a three for the Sharks to get the lead back to 15, and NSU led 25-9 after the first quarter.

SPU drew first blood in the second quarter, before both teams traded free throws. NSU went up 33-13 after a free throw from Reed, and later went up by 22 points after a three-pointer from Taydra Simpson. The Sharks still led by 22 at the media timeout, and both teams continued trading baskets before the Falcons hit a three to cut the deficit to 16. The Sharks led 49-31 at the half.

The Sharks went back up by 20 at the 7:21 mark of the third quarter on a layup from Reed. The lead hovered at 25 when Hailey Chiles hit a jumper at the 2:37 mark, and stayed at 25 when Simpson hit another three-pointer with less than two minutes remaining. NSU led 77-48 going into the fourth.

NSU led by 31 on a layup from Unique Horton, and led 80-50 after a free throw from Chynna Mattair. SPU did chip into the deficit a bit, as they held NSU to eight points the rest of the way. Two Falcon free throws provided the final margin as NSU prevailed, 88-69.



Celeste Reed: 12 points, six rebounds
Markayla Holland: 11 points, nine rebounds, three steals
Kaliyah Morales: 11 points, four steals, three assists
Hailey Chiles: 11 points
Kyrstin Green: 10 points



The Sharks will prepare for the second game of the NSU Thanksgiving Classic as they'll take on Georgian Court tomorrow at 2pm. To stay up-to-date with Sharks Women's Basketball, be sure to follow on Instagram and Twitter/X at NSUW_Basketball.