FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – With a 3-5 record in Sunshine State Conference play, the Nova Southeastern University women’s basketball team (10-7) will look to bounce back in the second half of conference play as the Sharks host No. 19 Rollins (17-3, 5-3 SSC) on Saturday, Jan. 29 in the NSU Arena at the Don Taft University Center. Tip-off is slated for 2 p.m.

The Sharks, who are on a four-game skid, lost their first game conference game to Rollins on Dec. 4, 87-61, before winning their next three. NSU was rolling as it defeated Florida Tech (75-69), Saint Leo (72-71) and Barry (80-71) at the NSU Arena. NSU dropped its next four conference games, three being on the road, to Eckerd (74-68), Lynn (64-56), Tampa (79-64) and Florida Southern (86-56).

The Sharks currently sit sixth in the SSC as everyone now has played eight conference games. Eight of the nine teams will have the chance to play in the SSC Conference Tournament in March.

Senior center Stephanie Sarosi (Mims, Fla.) posted her first 20-point game against the Tars back in December, hitting 8-for-13 from the field.

Sarosi sits third in conference standings scoring 17.4 points per game and senior point guard Abbie Tepe (Cincinnati, Ohio) has been gradually climbing the ranks as she scores 11.0 in SSC games for the 17th spot.

For the year, junior Jada Buckner (Loudon, Tenn.) averages 7.6 ppg while freshman Jasmine Wilkins (Miami, Fla.) and junior transfer Quinessa Johnson (West Chester, Ohio) tally 7.4 and 6.9, respectively.

Off the bench, senior Meloney Fosburgh (Phoenix, Ariz.) and freshman Richelle Carach (Naples, Fla.) add 3.4 and 3.3 ppg, respectively.

The Sharks average 66.5 points per game but have given up 75.1 points to its SSC opponents. As they have all season the NSU leads the conference with 5.1 blocks shots per game.

About Rollins
The Rollins Tars are fourth in the SSC halfway through play with a 5-3 record. After defeating the Sharks for its first conference win, the Tars fell at Tampa (75-69), against Eckerd (72-71) and to Florida Tech (62-58). Rollins slipped by Barry (46-43), beat Saint Leo (66-60) and recently defeated Florida Southern (84-63) and Lynn (84-75) in its last two SSC games.

Jasmine Bradley finished the previous matchup with NSU tallying 23 points, scoring 15 in the first five minutes of the game.

Kristina Mingos is one of three Tars to average double-figure points with 11.7 ppg. Amber Heistan and Kourtnie Berry sit right behind Mingos with 10.4 and 10.0, respectively.

As a team, the Tars hit 40 percent of their shots in conference action, just slightly above NSU’s 38 percent. Rollins outrebounds its opponents by a 6.4 margin to lead the SSC.

The Series against Rollins
This is the 23rd meeting between the two teams. The Tars have a 17-5 lead in the series and fell to Rollins earlier in the year and in both meetings last season. The last time the Sharks defeated Rollins was on Jan. 17, 2009, where NSU shocked the No. 8 team in the country with a 53-45 win.

SSC Standings
Below is a chart of the current Sunshine State Conference standings. Florida Southern is No. 1 holding a solid 7-1 record, with Tampa and Florida Tech both with 6-2 records at second and third, respectively. Rollins (5-3), Eckerd (4-4) and NSU (3-5) are in the middle of the pack as Lynn (2-6), Barry (2-6) and Saint Leo (1-7) round out the standings.

Live video (Click HERE) and live stats (Click HERE) will be available for the 2 p.m. game. Follow NSU Basketball through Twitter at www.twitter.com/NSUSharks.