Box Score BOX SCORE
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The Nova Southeastern women’s basketball team (3-0) scored the first 29 points of the game, holding UPR-Rio Piedras scoreless for 12-plus minutes, on their way to a 96-31 victory Thursday night at the NSU Arena in the Don Taft University Center.
Even after the Gallitos got on the scoreboard, the Sharks scored the next nine, and held a 46-11 lead at the break. They threatened their all-time scoring record for the third straight game (99 against Saint Leo in 2005), now having scored 97, 96 and 96 in those contests.
The 31 points the Gallitos scored marks the least ever given up by NSU (breaking the 33 scored last game by UPR-Mayaguez). The Sharks offense set another school record, shooting 60.3% percent from the floor in the game (35-of-58).
“I thought we did a nice job really honing in our defensive principles early on in the game,” said head coach LeAnn Freeland. “We set the tempo early, and I thought we did a nice job in the second half cutting down on our turnovers. We talked about just making simple, easy passes, and we limited our mistakes, something we need to do moving forward.”
Danielle Robinson (So., Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) led the Sharks with 19 points, joining four other teammates in double figures:
Tailor Jones (Sr., Altamonte Springs, Fla.) had 15,
Meixandra Porter (Sr., Chantilly, Va.) 14,
Richelle Carach (Jr., Naples, Fla) 11 and
Julia Salmio (Jr., Vantaa Finland) with a career-high 10. Again, for the second straight game, all 10 Sharks that played scored.
“We do have depth, and I’m excited to see how we match up over the weekend against tougher competition,” said Freeland. “I’m ready to see how much depth we really have this early on in the season.”
Point guard
Jessica Russi (Jr., Lake Mary, Fla.) had her third straight impressive floor game, dishing out nine assists against two turnovers, to go along with eight points and tying for the team-high (with three others) with six rebounds. Jones had seven assists and only one turnover and also had six boards.
“We have several different point guard options,” said Freeland. “We want to continue to be able to get out and run, so we have a lot of people who can get a rebound and run with it. A lot of them were point guards in high school or at their previous institutions, so we have a lot of versatility there.”
The Sharks, and Freeland, know that there are tougher games on the horizon, starting with this weekend’s NSU Classic. The home team will face off against Clark Atlanta on Saturday and Alabama-Huntsville Sunday, with both games tipping off at noon at the NSU Arena.
“The team understands the significance of these games, and tougher region competition,” said the head coach. “Tonight was a great indicator that we are focused and we are ready.”
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