JACKSON, Tenn. - The Union University women's basketball team defeated Nova Southeastern University 84-63 Saturday afternoon in the 2017 GSC/SSC Crossover Classic. Union improved to 2-0 on the season, while Nova Southeastern dropped to 1-1.
The Lady Bulldogs and Sharks played evenly throughout the first half. In the the first quarter, Nova Southeastern took a quick lead, and they held it throughout most of the first quarter. NSU led 16-14 at the end of one quarter.
In the second quarter, the Bulldogs battled back with their highest scoring quarter of the game with 25 points. Chelsey Shumpert scored 16 points, and Sara Lytle had 13 points in the first half, the Bulldogs took a 39-33 lead going into halftime.
The Lady Bulldogs continued to pull away from the Sharks in the third quarter. Union outscored Nova 24-16 in the third quarter and led 63-49 going into the fourth quarter.
A quick three from Emily Beard started the fourth quarter for the Lady Bulldogs. Union outscored Nova Southeastern 12-2 over the first five minutes of the fourth period to put the game out of reach. Union led by as many as 26 points, 84-58, with 1:05 left in the game, before cruising to the 84-63 final.
Union was led by Lytle with 29 points, while Shumpert finished with 24 points. Beard had nine points on three 3-pointers. Shumpert was 6-of-9 from long range, while Lytle shot 10-of-17 from the field and 9-of-10 from the free throw line. Union shot 52 percent from the field, 50 percent (13-26) from long range, and 83 percent (15-18) from the free throw line. Shumpert's 24 points put her at exactly 1,000 career point. She scored 949 points in three years at NCAA DI UT Chattanooga.
Nova Southeastern was led by Kayla Wright with 20 points and eight rebounds. Alison Hughes added nine points. The Sharks shot 43 percent from the field, 36 percent (9-25) from 3-point range, and 89 percent (8-9) from the free throw line.
Up next for Union will be a home game, Saturday, November 18 at 2 p.m. versus Brescia.
-UNION-
