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FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The Nova Southeastern women’s basketball team resumes play for the final time out of conference this season, in this weekend’s CarMax Holiday Classic in Melbourne, Fla., hosted by Florida Tech.
The Sharks (6-3) will face Fort Valley State on Saturday at 4 p.m., and Palm Beach Atlantic for the second time this season, Sunday at 2 p.m. NSU lost their last two matchups, Dec. 14-15 at the Shaw Classic in Raleigh, N.C.
"With only two days of practice prior to travelling to Florida Tech for two region games, I have been excited to see a sense of urgency with this group,” said head coach LeAnn Freeland. “The sense of urgency I've felt sends the message to me that our team is unwilling to settle for mediocrity."
Following losses in Raleigh to Fayetteville State (now 8-1 on the year) and No. 18 Shaw (4-1), the Sharks dropped out of the national poll. But Coach Freeland welcomed the break, and believes the team will be focused for this upcoming weekend.
"The NCAA has mandated the seven-day break for all winter sports for DII and it has been very good for teams across the nation,” she said. “During this break, players and coaches get an opportunity to take time for family and friends. Also, this time off the court enables our entire group to reflect upon the beginning of the season. We have identified our team's strengths and weaknesses and look forward to continual improvement."
First up this weekend for NSU is Fort Valley State (3-3).
"Historically, Fort Valley has been the team to beat in the SIAC and generally earns the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament every year,” said Freeland. “They have size, athleticism and depth, and they like to keep teams off-balance by playing a variety of defensive schemes in the half court and full court."
On Sunday, NSU faces Palm Beach Atlantic (3-7). The Sharks defeated the Sailfish in the season opener for both teams, all the way back on Nov. 9, 97-57.
Meixandra Porter (Sr., Chantilly, Va.) broke the school record for points (36) and 3-pointers in a game (she was 9-for-13), in the victory.
"Palm Beach Atlantic has continued to improve throughout the season and have recorded two big wins against Saint Leo,” said Freeland. “They are a team that will fight for 40 minutes. PBA has two seniors who provide solid leadership and production, in point guard Lynsey Poole and senior forward Ashley Dolberry."
Fans can follow the Sharks in both games in Melbourne via live audio
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SHARK STATS
• The Sharks have the Sunshine State’s second- and third-leading scorers, in Porter (18.7) and
Danielle Robinson (So., Fort Lauderdale, Fla.), at 16.7. Following her career-best 25-point output against Shaw,
Amanda Burakoski (Jr., Brooklyn, N.Y.) is just outside of the SSC’s top 10, 11th at 13.0 per game.
• NSU as a team still leads the conference in scoring, by nearly 10 points a contest, averaging 84.8. Their scoring margin of +26.1 is best by over 10 points as well.
• The Sharks’ team floor game tops the SSC, in four categories: assists (19.0), steals (14.0), turnover margin (+7.11) and assist/turnover ratio (1.0).
• As such, their assist leader,
Jessica Russi (Jr., Lake Mary, Fla.) is atop the SSC leaderboard (6.2, which also places her fourth in the nation), as is Porter in steals (2.9). Robinson is third in steals (2.3), while Russi is eighth (2.0).
• The team’s top inside player,
Richelle Carach (Jr., Naples, Fla.) is the SSC’s best field-goal shooter (61.4 percent), and is ninth in the conference in rebounding (6.7). She also leads the Sharks and is fifth in the SSC in free throw percentage (81.8%), just ahead of Porter (eighth, 80%).
• Porter is second in the conference in 3-pointers made per game (2.9), while Robinson is fifth (2.2) and Burakoski sixth (2.1). The team averages 9.2 made ‘3’s’ per game, best in the SSC.
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