FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – A team filled with fresh talent, the Nova Southeastern women's basketball team and head coach LeAnn Freeland-Curry are ready to kick off the 2017-18 season on the road with the GSC/SSC Crossover Challenge in mid-November.
 
The Sharks return six, including 2016-17 SSC Freshman of the Year, Maria Bardeeva, and 2015-16 SSC Player of the Year, Kayla Wright, while welcoming eight newcomers to form a stacked 14-player roster for Freeland-Curry's seventh season. On Nov. 10, NSU will play its first game of the season against Delta State before taking on host Union the following day.
 
"Every year we feel the best out-of-conference schedule includes all south region teams," explained Freeland-Curry. "Playing a tough region schedule outside of conference has positioned us well for post season opportunities over the past five seasons."
 
From there, NSU will open up home play against Sunshine State Conference foe Tampa on Nov. 18 before hosting the 5th-annual NSU Thanksgiving Classic on Nov. 24-25. The Sharks will compete against West Alabama and Lee, while also welcoming SSC newcomer Embry-Riddle to the Rick Case Arena to round out the four-team tournament.
 
On Dec. 2, the Sharks will travel to Lakeland, Fla. to take on Florida Southern before returning to Fort Lauderdale for a five-game home stand. NSU will host 2016-17 SSC Tournament runner-up Florida Tech on Dec. 9 before two non-conference games against Benedict (Dec. 15) and Shaw (Dec. 19). After the holiday break, the Sharks will close out 2017 against Barry on Dec. 30 before starting 2018 with a bang, hosting 2016-17 SSC Tournament and regular season champions No. 17 Eckerd on Jan. 3.
 
A pair of road games against Rollins (Jan. 6) and Embry-Riddle (Jan. 10) will be capped with a home game against Saint Leo on Jan. 13 before the Sharks travel to West Palm Beach, Fla. to play Palm Beach Atlantic, also an SSC newcomer. Back-to-back home games against Florida Southern (Jan. 20) and Lynn (Jan. 24) along with a road game at Tampa (Jan. 27) will round out January.
 
The final seven games of the regular season will be against conference foes, with home play ending on Feb. 21 against Palm Beach Atlantic and the last game of the regular season on Feb. 24 at Florida Tech.
 
Post-season play will begin with the SSC Tournament Quarterfinals starting on Feb. 28 and the semifinals and finals the following week on Mar. 3-4.
 
"Due to our rigorous schedule, it will be important for our players to come ready to compete every day in order to excel in the 2017-18 season," said Freeland-Curry. "So far, we really like our team's work ethic, competitiveness and eagerness to be challenged. With a strong recruiting class of eight talented guards along with six returning impact players, including the return of 2016 SSC Player of the Year Kayla Wright, we will be setting our goals very high this season." 
 
To view the full NSU women's basketball 2016-17 schedule, CLICK HERE.
 
To stay up to date on all things NSU women's basketball, follow the Sharks on Twitter @NSU_WBasketball and @NSUSharks.