Box Score BOX SCORE
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – For the first time in program history, the Nova Southeastern women’s basketball team is a winner in NCAA Tournament play, defeating Clark Atlanta at the NSU Arena in the Don Taft University Center Friday night, 87-60.
Coming into the game, the Sharks had had two double-double efforts all season long, which they matched with two on Friday night alone.
Tailor Jones (Sr., Altamonte Springs, Fla.) had 14 points and 10 rebounds, while
Richelle Carach (Jr., Naples, Fla.) chipped in with 10 points and 12 rebounds. Meanwhile, Jones flirted with a triple-double, dishing out seven assists, and the Sharks also had a third double-digit rebounder in
Jessica Russi (Jr,. Lake Mary, Fla.), with a season-high 12.
"It was a great team effort," said head coach LeAnn Freeland. "I thought we came out and stayed together for 40 minutes. We fought hard and it was clear to me that it was really important for our team to stay alive after today. I was really impressed with our effort and I felt like everyone came to battle."
In a result reminiscent of these two teams’ earlier matchup this season, the Sharks (21-8) placed five players in double digits (as they did on Nov. 17) and ran their season mark to 14-0 when outrebounding their opposition. On Friday, it was a 52-38 advantage over the taller and stouter Panthers, while it was 45-39 the first time around.
"We broke down some statistics over the last couple of days, and came to the conclusion that we needed to battle more on the boards," said Freeland. "It's fun as a coach on the sidelines to see how the players made it a point of emphasis. This team can do whatever the put their mind to and that’s the joy of coaching this group."
NSU opened up a 15-9 game early with an 11-2 run, and aside from a brief respite, were up double digits the rest of the way. They pushed the first half lead to a high of 20 on two occasions, and were up by as many as 39 after the break.
"We came out aggressive," said
Meixandra Porter (Sr., Chantilly, Va.), wh had 19 points to lead all scorers. "When we come out aggressive on both offense and defense we are a pretty dominant team. That is definitely when we find our flow and we work together as a team. Being aggressive is part of who we are."
In addition to Porter, Jones and Carach,
Danielle Robinson (So., Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) had 18 points, including a 3-pointer to start the night's scoring, while
Taylor Buie (Fr., Puyallup, Wash.) came off the bench to score 16 points and tie her career best with four 3-pointers
"We came out really focused on defense, so the 3-pointer came because of our defensive effort and our effort on rebounding," said Robinson.
"(My approach was) just to be aggressive, to keep pushing, be there for my teammates and to play together and have some fun," added Jones. "If you do those things, you play well."
The Panthers (19-11) had their twin towers, La’Quisha Lewis and Erika Sumpter, combine for 28 points and 15 rebounds in the loss (Sumpter with team highs of 15 and eight). The Sharks held CAU’s leading point-getter, Conisha Hicks (15.9 coming in), scoreless on 0-for-7 shooting.
NSU will play Rollins in Saturday’s second round matchup, at 7:30 p.m. The Tars ended the Sharks' run in the SSC Tournament semifinals last week.
"Our ladies have been waiting for this opportunity all season," said Freeland. "I shared with the ladies before the game that I had a nice, calm presence about myself, just knowing that we’re ready for this opportunity. Our players have really been working all season for this time of year, and it was clear today that they were mentally prepared for it."
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