BOX SCORE
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The Nova Southeastern women’s basketball team (16-10, 8-8 SSC) dropped its regular season finale Saturday at the NSU Arena, losing a close battle with No. 14 Rollins (21-5, 12-4 SSC), 62-60. The Sharks honored their five seniors:
Quinessa Johnson (West Chester, Ohio),
Emiliya Yancheva (Sofia, Bulgaria),
Ashley Day (West Palm Beach, Fla.),
Jessica Walter (Knoxville, Tenn.) and
Jada Buckner (Loudon, Tenn.) prior to tip-off.
NSU jumped out to a 14-2 advantage through the first six minutes of the first half, with
Meixandra Porter (Jr., Chantilly, Va.) registering seven early points.
The Sharks continued to create distance between themselves and the Tars, increasing the lead to 17 points, 29-12, with 5:29 left in the opening stanza. Porter and Johnson each knocked down 3-pointers during that stretch.
Rollins ended the half on a 7-0 run to close the halftime deficit to nine, 34-25. Porter finished the half with 15 points on 4-of-6 shooting from the field with three triples. The Sharks scored 13 points off 12 Rollins’ turnovers.
The Tars continued to close the gap in the opening stages of the second half, going on a 12-4 run to get within one, 38-37. NSU responded with back-to-back layups from
Jasmine Wilkins (So., Miami, Fla.) and Porter to go back up by five. A Buckner 3-pointer at the 11:20 mark extended the lead to seven, 49-42, for the Sharks.
Rollins responded once again, this time with an 8-1 run that even the score at 50-50.
Danielle Robinson (Fr., Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) broke the tie with a trey, but Kourtnie Berry came right back with three points for the Tars.
The score was tied 57-57 with 2:17 showing on the clock when Sarah Taylor hit a jumper for Rollins to give them a lead they would not relinquish. Porter hit a 3-pointer with 17 seconds remaining, but the Sharks were not able to get another good chance to score.
Porter led all scorers with 24 points, while Robinson added 13. Ashley Jones was the lone Tar in double figures with 10 points, while 12 of the 13 student-athletes that saw the floor scored. All 13 grabbed at least one rebound for Rollins.
The SSC Tournament awaits the Sharks Wednesday. As the fifth seed, NSU will journey to fourth-seeded Eckerd for their first round game. The Sharks played at Eckerd Dec. 10, falling to the Tritons, 71-55.
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