Box Score BOX SCORE
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – The Nova Southeastern women’s basketball team shot 56 percent from the field, and evened up their Sunshine State Conference record by defeating Eckerd on the road Saturday, 84-58.
The Sharks (9-3, 1-1 SSC) scored the first eight points of the game and never trailed. As a team, they shot a staggering 63 percent before halftime (17-of-33), opening up a 10-point lead at that point, 39-29.
“We showed a lot of patience in the halfcourt, and got some easy looks at the rim,” said head coach LeAnn Freeland. “I thought that our passing was pretty much on point, and we limited our turnovers again. We play a very up-tempo style, so turnovers are just part of that, but I thought we’ve done a better job lately slowing down our game and running our offense.”
As Freeland noted, the team’s average for turnovers coming in was over 19, and they only committed 15 Saturday. Meanwhile, they forced 21 Triton miscues, and won points off of turnovers, 25-13.
Following the break, Eckerd (4-5, 1-1 SSC) cut it to seven at the 18:05 mark, 43-36, but the Sharks reeled off 11 straight points to go up 18, and never led by less than 15 the rest of the way.
Danielle Robinson (So., Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) led all scorers with 20 points, many coming in the post despite giving up as many as eight inches to her defenders. She was 8-of-14 from the field and also tied for the team high with six rebounds.
“Danielle has really improved her ability to go off the dribble, and she is fearless,” said Freeland. “Even against a team like Eckerd, with their height advantage, she is still going to look to get to the rim. She finished extremely strong today, even with contact.”
Robinson was joined in double digits by three Shark teammates:
Tailor Jones (Sr., Altamonte Springs, Fla.), who set a new NSU career high with 17 points, while adding eight assists and six rebounds;
Meixandra Porter (Sr., Chantilly, Va.), who had 16 points on 6-of-9 shooting; and
Amanda Burakoski (Jr., Brooklyn, N.Y.), nearly flawless from the field at 6-of-7 shooting, for 12 points.
The Tritons were led by Krystal Charles with 15 points. The Sharks forced Eckerd’s leading scorer coming into the game, Liga Vente, in early foul trouble, limiting her to just six points in only 15 minutes on the floor.
“Liga Vente is a very good player, one of the best in the conference in my opinion,” said Freeland. “We did a nice job facing her up and taking her off the dribble, which got her into foul trouble early. It was definitely a big advantage for us.”
The Sharks won the rebounding edge, 28-24, and also won the assist battle, 20-12, led by Jones’ eight and
Jessica Russi (Jr., Lake Mary, Fla.), who had five against only two turnovers.
“Tailor is a very dynamic player, and she definitely creates another dimension for our team,” said Freeland. “And that’s on both ends of the floor. We’re definitely glad to have her back healthy. Overall, it was one of our best team performances of the year, and we need to keep building on that.”
Next Saturday, The Sharks return home to the NSU Arena at the Don Taft University Center for the first time in nearly two months. They face Florida Southern for a 2 p.m. tipoff.
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