Box Score BOX SCORE
LAKELAND, Fla. – Melanie Ducott of Florida Southern hit a 3-pointer from beyond midcourt to send it into overtime, and the Mocs outlasted the No. 20 Nova Southeastern women's basketball team in the extra frame to win Saturday, 73-70.
With 3.4 seconds left in regulation,
Taylor Buie (Fr., Puyallup, Wash.) converted an old-fashioned 3-point play to give the Sharks (15-6, 7-4 SSC) a 61-58 lead. Buie drove from the left wing to the right block, spun into the lane and was fouled, while making what was at that point the go-ahead layup. Her successful free throw gave NSU the three-point lead.
On the ensuing possession, FSC's Ali Sanders inbounded the ball, baseline left, to Mariah Harris near midcourt. Harris handed it off to Ducott, whose desperation buzzer-beater hit nothing but net.
In overtime, Ducott started off the scoring by hitting a jumper, but that was immediately answered by Buie with a driving layup. The Mocs (9-12, 3-8 SSC) then scored the next six, including two close-in shots by Harris. However, Harris picked up her fifth and final foul on the next Sharks' possession, a scoop layup by
Richelle Carach (Jr., Naples, Fla.). She could not convert the 3-point play.
After a Mocs turnover,
Amanda Burakoski (Jr., Brooklyn, N.Y.) hit a transition 3-pointer, only the third made '3' in 23 attempts in the game for the Sharks. It cut the deficit to one at 69-68 with 2:06 remaining.
FSC made 3-of-4 free throws to go back up four, and Burakoski sank two of her own to make it 72-70 with 1:39 left. Neither team was able to score until the Mocs' Kirstin McIntyre was fouled with under seven seconds left. She made the first and missed the second, and the Sharks raced the ball up the floor, but a 3-pointer by
Danielle Robinson (So., Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) at the horn was off the front rim, giving the Mocs the win.
"Florida Southern played a great game," said head coach LeAnn Freeland. "We must improve our communication and pay more attention to detail in order to find our rhythm again on offense and defense."
Robinson led NSU with 16 points and eight rebounds. Burakoski added 14 and eight rebounds as well.
Meixandra Porter (Sr., Chantilly, Va.) had 10 points, and Carach had nine points on 4-of-7 shooting.
McIntyre had game-high honors in both points (28) and rebounds (12), while Ducott had 22. Harris also had a double-double for the Mocs, with 14 points and 11 boards. FSC outrebounded the Sharks, 46-36, and had 13 offensive rebounds, with McIntyre gathering seven by herself.
"Late in the season, people play more physical," said Freeland. "We have to match that physicality on the boards in the post."
The Sharks will have a week off until they return to the NSU Arena in the Don Taft University Center next Saturday, Feb. 16. They will take on Tampa at 2 p.m., looking to snap this two-game losing streak.
"Our team is much too talented to allow a couple of setbacks to hinder our season," said Freeland.
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