FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – For the second time in four days, the Nova Southeastern women’s basketball team heads on the road to face a ranked Sunshine State Conference opponent, when they take on No. 15 Tampa at 2 p.m. on Saturday.
The Sharks (11-3, 3-1 SSC) defeated No. 19 Rollins Wednesday night, 77-62. Because both Florida Tech and Tampa fell on the same night, NSU took sole possession of first place in the SSC.
“We still have a lot of room for improvement, but to be sitting at the top position in the league at this juncture is a positive,” said head coach LeAnn Freeland. “This is a grind-it-out kind of conference and I appreciate the fact there are no cupcake games. However, because of the parity which exists, we have to literally be ready for every game. We don’t have much time to celebrate the last win; we just have to move on to our next opponent.”
That opponent is the aforementioned Spartans (11-2, 2-2 SSC), who have lost two of their last three conference games. The team did start off the season 10-0, and already have as many wins as all of last year, which was an aberration for head coach Tom Jessee (who had seven consecutive seasons of 18 or more wins prior to last year’s 11-16 mark).
“Tampa is a different team from last season for two reasons: they are healthy this year and their coaches did a tremendous job recruiting,” said Freeland. “Their new players complement the returners well and have made significant contributions to their program already. Just like every game in the SSC, our game at Tampa will be a battle.”
On Wednesday against Saint Leo, the Spartans fell behind 16-0 and 19-2, and trailed 40-15 at the half. They only shot 23 percent in the first half, compared to 62 percent for the Lions. In the second half, they cut the deficit to 14, but fell by 20, 64-44.
Meanwhile, in Winter Park, NSU used a late 17-0 run to topple Rollins. They had moved ahead in the second half 54-44, but weathered a Tars run that tied things up at 60-60 with eight minutes remaining. From that point until the 1:16 mark, the Sharks scored every point in the game and won by 15.
Amanda Burakoski (Jr., Brooklyn, N.Y.) set a new career standard with 27 points in the win. Though she was the only Shark in double digits, two teammates had tremendous floor games:
Tailor Jones (Sr., Altamonte Springs, Fla.) with eight points, 10 rebounds, three assists and three steals, while
Jessica Russi (Jr., Lake Mary, Fla.) had eight points, nine rebounds (five offensive), four assists and four steals.
“Our style of play is best-suited for versatile players with a high basketball IQ,” said Freeland. “It makes teams more adaptable when every player can play multiple positions.”
In the midst of a five-game winning streak, the Sharks have shown a propensity of late where many different players have contributed, even when one or more of their teammates struggle.
“Our team has a lot of players who can score the basketball,” said Freeland. “When one player has an off-night, other players step up with offensive production.”
Game time against Tampa is 2 p.m. Shark fans can follow the team against the Spartans via live audio
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SHARK STATS
• Burakoski continues her torrid month offensively. In her last six games, all in double digits, she is averaging 19 points a game, shooting 58 percent from the field and 51 percent from 3-point range (18-for-35). Her scoring average, 14.7, is four slots higher than the last SSC rankings, now tying her for fourth. She is first in the conference in field goal percentage (57.5%), second in 3-point percentage (44.4%) and fourth in 3-pointers made per game (2.3).
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Meixandra Porter (Sr., Chantilly, Va.) still leads the squad in three categories, all of which rank her second in the SSC: scoring (16.6), steals (2.6) and 3-pointers per game (2.6). Her 3-point percentage of 37.1 percent places her fifth in the conference.
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Taylor Buie (Fr., Puyallup, Wash.) was 3-of-4 from behind the arc Wednesday, pushing her season percentage to 38.1 percent, good enough for fourth in the SSC (up from eighth). Trailing just behind Buie and Porter in sixth is
Danielle Robinson (So., Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) at 34.7 percent. Robinson is seventh in the conference in scoring as well (14.4 PPG).
• The team’s primary ballhandlers, Russi and Jones, continue to rank in multiple categories. Russi leads all SSC playmakers in assists, 5.9, and is fifth in assist/turnover ratio (1.4). Jones is third in assists (4.2), fifth in steals (2.2) and eighth in both assist/turnover ratio (1.0) and field goal percentage (47.6%).
• Following Wednesday’s output, the Sharks moved into first place in the SSC in two new team categories: 3-point field goal percentage (35.1%) and rebounding margin (+6.6).
• NSU continues to lead the conference in the following seven categories: scoring offense, scoring margin, field goal percentage, assists, steals, assist/turnover ratio and 3-point field goals made per game.
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