FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. –The Nova Southeastern women’s basketball team has released its 2012-13 schedule. The Sharks, who finished last season with a 17-11,8-8 SSC record, will open up the coming season on its home court, the NSU Arena in the Don Taft University Center, against Palm Beach Atlantic, Friday Nov. 9th at 6 p.m.
Head coach
LeAnn Freeland enters her second year with NSU and is looking to build on a solid debut season. Last year, the Sharks went 17-11 and advanced to the second round of the Sunshine State Conference Tournament.
"Last season we got off to a great start in building our women’s basketball program," said Freeland. "Our overall and conference record doesn’t clearly indicate the vast improvements our players made in one season, specifically on defense. As a first-year coaching staff, we made it our No. 1 focus to emphasize defense. Our players bought into our defensive philosophy, which emphasizes suffocating ball pressure. Our defensive statistical improvements in one season speak for themselves."
Across the board, the Sharks made great strides on defense in 2011-12. The Sharks cut down on their opponent field goal and 3-point shooting percentage. Overall, the Sharks made a 13-point swing from the previous season in opponent points per game and claimed second in the SSC in that category. The Sharks also claimed second in the conference with over 26 defensive rebounds per game.
"Even though we will continue to make a statement on the defensive end, we have put together a team capable of tremendous offensive output as well," said Freeland. "This is a team that could have a different leading scorer almost every night. The offensive proficiency we have seen is very exciting.”
The Sharks will bring back leading scorers
Danielle Robinson (So., Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) and
Meixandra Porter (Sr., Chantilly, Va.) and pair them with several newcomers who will look to make an immediate impact on both ends of the court. This season, the team will face some of the nation's elite teams, including seven squads who advanced to the NCAA postseason in 2011-12.
"Our schedule has been designed to offer our team a variety of challenges throughout the season, starting with our exhibition games against the Chilean National Team and the University of Miami," stated Freeland. This is a team that wants to be challenged and welcomes the opportunity to compete against the best.”
The road exhibition against the Hurricanes, who finished eighth in the country one year ago, is slated for Nov. 5 in Coral Gables, Fla. After the home opener on Nov. 9, the Sharks will continue to have a home-court advantage for a four-game run. On Sunday, Nov. 11th, the Sharks will then host Puerto Rico-Mayaguez at 2 p.m. The following Thursday, Nov. 15th, the Sharks will play Puerto Rico- Rio Piedras.
The Sharks will then host The Shark Classic, Nov. 17th and 18th. NSU will play Clark Atlanta on Saturday, at 2 p.m. On Sunday, the Sharks will face Alabama-Huntsville at 12p.m.
On Sat., Dec.1st, the Sharks face their first of seven away games at Saint Leo at 2 p.m. NSU will be back in action on Dec. 11th at District of Columbia at 6pm.
“Because it is our goal to be a national contender this season, I feel it is important for us to be tested throughout the year," Freeland stated. "Four of our non-conference opponents were NCAA Tournament teams in 2012. On our overall schedule, ten games of our twenty-six are against NCAA Tournament teams, including two Final Four teams: Rollins and defending National Champion Shaw University.”
The following Friday, Dec. 14th the Sharks will play in the Shaw Classic that takes place in Raleigh, N.C. The Sharks will take on Fayetteville State at 3 p.m. The next day, they will play the defending national champions, Shaw University at 5pm. Last year, the Sharks gave Shaw one their six losses, defeating them 69-54 at the NSU Arena.
The Sharks will return back to Florida for the Florida Tech Classic, Dec. 29-30. On Saturday, the Sharks will play against Fort Valley State at 4p.m. The next day, the Sharks will face Palm Beach Atlantic at 2 p.m.
The New Year kicks off Jan. 5th on the road to start SSC play against Eckerd at 2 p.m. The Sharks will return back at home on Saturday, Jan.12th, to face conference play against Florida Southern at 2 p.m. The following week, the Sharks will be on the road again for a Jan. 16th game against Rollins at 5:30 p.m. The Sharks will then travel to Tampa, Fla., to face Tampa on Jan. 19th at 2 p.m.
The Sharks will come home and play conference rival Florida Tech on Wed. Jan. 23rd at 5:30 p.m. The Sharks will be on the road the following Saturday Dec. 26th at Lynn. The Sharks will end the month of January with the home court advantage on Jan. 30th against Barry, with a 5:30 p.m. start time.
February starts the month with two home games against conference play. The sharks will play Saint Leo on Feb. 2nd starting at 2p.m and Eckerd on Feb.6th at 5:30 p.m. The Sharks will then hit the road for another conference match against Florida Southern on Feb. 9th.
NSU will then return back to the area on Feb. 16th against Tampa for the Pink Zone game at 2 p.m. On Wednesday Feb. 20th the Sharks take on Rollins at 5:30 p.m. Then on Sat. Feb. 23rd, NSU will host Senior Night against conference rival Lynn at 2 p.m.
On Wednesday, Feb. 27th, the Sharks will be back on the road to take on Florida Tech. The regular season concludes away at Barry on Saturday, March 2nd at 2 p.m.
The annual SSC Tournament, which has changed its format to include all nine teams, is slated to begin on March 5, in Kissimmee, Fla. at the Silver Spurs Arena.
NSUSharks.com will offer live video and stats for all NSU home games this season. Fans can also tune into 640 AM Sports to hear Freeland's recap of the week every Saturday morning during the season.
For the latest NSU news and results, be sure to visit
www.NSUSharks.com. To have results sent directly to your cell phone via text message, sign up for SMS text message delivery by
clicking here. For the latest news, be sure to sign up for the Shark Alert E-newsletter by
clicking here.
