FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - The Palm Beach Atlantic women's basketball team fell on the road 76-55 against a 7-7 Nova Southeastern team tonight. The Sailfish fall to 2-13 with the defeat where the 'Fish held a five-point halftime lead. The Sharks move to 8-7 with the victory and 4-4 in Sunshine State Conference play. 

The Sailfish started strong against a NSU team that appeared in the Elite Eight last season shooting 8-of-15 from the floor and scoring 20 points in the first 10 minutes. Both teams played high-quality basketball in the first quarter, but the Sharks led 21-20 behind strong play in the paint.

Defensively, the Sailfish turned up the intensity in the second quarter and limited NSU to nine points on 4-of-18 shooting. Avree Carpenter and England Bennett lifted the Sailfish offensively scoring eight and seven points respectively on 6-of-7 combines shooting. Ciara Cumbie pulled down six rebounds in the first half and battled down low with NSU's Jordan Tully who lead the Sharks with 16 points in the first half. PBA pulled away at the end of the second quarter with an 11-0 run to close the half and lead 35-30 at the break.

Whatever momentum the Sailfish took into the locker room at halftime quickly disappeared in the third quarter as the Sharks pounded the ball inside to forwards Tully and Maria Bardeeva. The Sailfish had no answer defensively as Tully finished with 29 points and Bardeeva scored 13. The Sharks were able to add 19 second-chance points off of 17 offensive rebounds in the game. 

While PBA struggled to deal with the Sharks on the defensive end, they also went cold from the field in the third quarter scoring just five points on 2-of-11 shooting. PBA's five-point halftime lead quickly dissipated after the Sharks started the third quarter on a 14-1 run. The deficit grew to 17 at the end of the third quarter, 57-40, and there was no way back for the 'Fish.

The Sailfish ended the game shooting 40 percent from the floor and were able to hit just three shots from behind the arc. Avree Carpenter was the only PBA player to reach double figures with 11 points on 3-of-8 shooting. The separating factor in the game was NSU's 48-26 advantage in points in the paint.

The Sailfish will look to piece two strong halves together to pick up a SSC victory when they travel to Florida Southern on Jan. 18. FSC is 6-1 in SSC play this season and 9-6 overall.