Box Score BOX SCORE

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The Nova Southeastern women’s basketball team stayed undefeated (4-0) with a 91-62 win over Clark Atlanta (1-1) on the first day of the NSU Classic, held at the NSU Arena in the Don Taft University Center Saturday afternoon.

Five Sharks reached double digits in scoring, led by Meixandra Porter (Sr., Chantilly, Va.), who had 18. Tailor Jones (Sr., Altamonte Springs, Fla.) added 15, along with seven rebounds and a team-high six assists.

Forward Richelle Carach (Jr., Naples, Fla.) notched the first NSU double-double of the year, with 14 points on 5-of-6 shooting while adding 11 rebounds. Danielle Robinson (So., Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) had 13 points and seven rebounds, and Jessica Russi (Jr., Lake Mary Fla.) had 12 points, seven rebounds and five assists. For the third consecutive game, all 10 Sharks that played scored.

"We really want to try to continue to develop our depth so we can use that as an advantage," said head coach LeAnn Freeland. "It was great to be able to get everybody into the game, and everyone contributed very positively again today."

Unlike in their first three games, the Sharks were unable to get out to a big lead out of the gate. It was a tie game at 10-10 at 15:21 when NSU went on a 13-2 run to move ahead 23-12. The Panthers managed two free throws to cut it to nine, but that was the last time they’d be in single digits the remainder of the contest.

"Clark Atlanta came out very aggressive and they're a talented team," said Freeland. "I'm not sure we were mentally ready to start the game, but I thought that after we got into the flow of it, we were able to match their intensity. They were really good in the full court, trapping and pressing, and I thought at times we got a little out of control. But overall, we handled their defense relatively well considering it's this early in the season."

NSU led by 23 at the half, 48-25, and had their largest lead at 33 with 7:27 left (79-46). For the fourth time in as many games, they shot at least 45 percent from the field, coming in at 46.3 percent Saturday (31-of-67).

Clark Atlanta, while bigger in stature, lost the rebounding battle to NSU, 45-39.

"That was one of my concerns going into this game, our rebounding against a bigger and possibly more athletic team, and I thought we held our own," said Freeland. "We can still get better, but (Richelle Carach) came off the bench and gave us tremendous minutes with the double-double. That was great to see."

The Panthers were led by La’Quisha Lewis with 20 points, while Conisha Hicks had 14. Erika Sumpter had a game-high 12 rebounds.

The NSU Classic continues on Sunday, when the Sharks host Alabama-Huntsville at noon, followed by Florida Tech and Clark Atlanta.

"Alabama-Huntsville is a team that is very good, very well-coached, and they have two phenomenal guards," said Freeland. "Our players are excited for the opportunity to play against them tomorrow."

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.