BOX SCORE

TAMPA, Fla. – The Nova Southeastern women’s basketball team (10-4, 3-2 SSC) picked up its third consecutive victory Saturday, downing Tampa (7-8, 1-5 SSC) 54-37. The 37 points allowed is the lowest total the Sharks have given up this season, beating their previous mark of 40 against Florida Memorial back on Nov. 30.
 
The game got off to a slow start, as both squads began 0-for-5 from the field. It took until the 12:33 mark for each side to have two made field goals, as Meixandra Porter (Jr., Chantilly, Va.) laid the ball in for the Sharks second basket.
 
The Spartans created a small margin, 19-14, going on a 5-0 run with 5:47 left in the opening half. The Sharks immediately responded with a 9-0 run of their own, capped by a Quinessa Johnson (Sr., West Chester, Ohio) fast break layup off a Jessica Russi (So., Lake Mary, Fla.) steal, forcing Tampa to spend a timeout.
 
Porter added a pair of free throws with one second left as the Spartans bench was assessed a technical foul to bring the Sharks’ run to 13-0. NSU’s defense held Tampa scoreless for the final 4:58 of the opening half, allowing the Sharks to take a 27-19 lead into the locker room at halftime.
 
Porter led all scorers with 10 points through the first 20 minutes. A trio of Sharks, Jasmine Wilkins (So., Miami, Fla.), Johnson and Richelle Carach (So., Naples, Fla.), snagged five rebounds. Jaleesa Harmon led the Spartans with seven points. The teams combined for 28 turnovers in the opening half.
 
Robinson immediately added to the Sharks run in the second half, knocking down a trey just 17 seconds into the action. Illyssa Vivo snapped the Spartan’s 6:28 scoring drought, converting a layup down low. The Sharks though continued to run its offense smoothly with Carach giving NSU its largest lead of the game, 40-25, hitting one from the charity stripe with 10:45 left on the clock.
 
The Spartans got as close as nine points, 42-33, on a Vivo free throw with just over four minutes left to play, but never seriously challenged the Sharks’ lead. NSU closed the game on a 12-4 run with Jada Buckner (Sr., Loudon, Tenn.) sinking the sixth trey of the game for the Sharks along the way. Russi and Johnson added buckets in the final minute, as NSU secured its third-straight conference win, 54-37, over the Spartans.
 
Porter netted a game-high 18 points, playing in front a NSU-heavy crowd at the Bob Martinez Athletic Center. Johnson, grabbed a season-high 11 boards, but fell one point short of a double-double. Carach matched Johnson’s total on the glass, as the pair helped NSU outrebound Tampa, 48-25.
 
The Sharks are yet to lose in 2012, having defeated Florida Tech, No. 22 Florida Southern and Tampa since the start of the New Year. Saturday’s victory gave head coach LeAnn Freeland her 99th career win as she will go for the century mark Wednesday when the Sharks host Lynn at the NSU Arena in the Don Taft University Center.

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.