BOX SCORE
SAINT LEO, Fla. – The Nova Southeastern women’s basketball team (15-9, 7-7 SSC) moved back to .500 in the Sunshine State Conference Saturday, as the Sharks defeated the Saint Leo Lions (7-17, 1-13 SSC) on the road, 69-57.
Meixandra Porter (Jr., Chantilly, Va.) led the Sharks in scoring with 15 points on 4-for-11 shooting. She also tallied three rebounds, two assists and four steals.
Jasmine Wilkins (So., Miami, Fla.) reached a team-high 11 rebounds, seven of which were offensive boards, and also scored 12 points.
Jessica Russi (So., Lake Mary, Fla.) had a game-best four assists along with 10 points.
The Sharks broke out an early lead as they started the game on an 8-1 run. The Lions made an attempt to even out the score, at one point making it a one-point game, but the Sharks controlled the action throughout the half. NSU controlled the pace of the game despite a poor shooting performance. The Sharks shot 29 percent (11-for-28) in the half and 30 percent (3-for-10) from the foul line.
NSU was able to overcome its shooting woes by outrebounding Saint Leo in the first half, 26-20, and caused the home team to commit 13 turnovers. Porter shot 4-for-7 in the period and had 12 points at the break.
The Sharks’ shooting percentage started moving back towards the season average in the second half as NSU shot 50 percent (13-for-26) over the last 20 minutes. The Sharks reached their biggest lead of the game just two minutes into the period on a 9-2 run, bringing the score to 38-20.
NSU moved into cruise control as they kept the Lions from making a comeback. The Lions brought their deficit down to 11 points with just four minutes left, but never got it down to single digits.
On the day, the Sharks committed 13 turnovers in the game but forced the competition to make twice as many. The Sharks recorded 19 steals, with Russi stealing a career-high five.
Danielle Robinson (Fr., Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) had 12 points and three steals while
Jada Buckner (Sr., Loudon, Tenn.) came off the bench to score nine points and pull down four boards.
The Sharks will compete in their final road game of the regular season this Wednesday against Lynn at 5:30 p.m.
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