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Game Notes
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The No. 5 Nova Southeastern women's basketball team looks to start another winning streak as they face their final Sunshine State Conference opponent for the first time, hosting Saint Leo at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday night at the NSU Arena.
The Sharks (15-1, 6-1 SSC) had their program-record 15-game winning streak snapped on Saturday, falling to Tampa on the road, 71-60. They dropped two spots in the USA Today Coaches' Poll, as two other undefeated teams got knocked off in the last week (Emporia State and Harding), leaving just two left (No. 1 Bentley and No. 2 Colorado Mesa).
Jasmine Wilkins (R-Jr., Miami), who had won the previous two SSC Player of the Week awards, kept up her hot stretch with a career-best (and season-best by a Shark) 26 points in the loss to Tampa. She was 11-of-14 from the field and added seven rebounds.
The Sharks kept ahead of the pack in the SSC even with the loss. Their 6-1 mark is a half-game ahead of Tampa, and a full game ahead of both Rollins and Saint Leo. The Lions (14-3, 5-2 SSC) have already clinched a winning record, for just the second time in the program's 37 seasons. After a 10-0 start, they began to receive votes in the Week 4 USA Today poll, and have in each of the last five.
After winning their first 10, the Lions lost three straight, to Alaska-Anchorage, Florida Tech and Tampa. They've rebounded to win each of their last four, all in-conference: Barry, Florida Southern, Eckerd, and last time out, at Lynn on Saturday, 79-52.
As a team, Saint Leo ranks best in the conference in rebounding margin (+8.8, which is also ninth best in the country) and is second in the conference, behind the Sharks, in scoring offense, scoring margin and assists. They are also second in field goal defense (also ninth in DII) and third in free throw percentage.
Individually, Teresa Manigrasso is the team's leading scorer at 15.1 points, ranking her fourth in the league. Point guard Chachi Guzman is second in the conference and 10th in the country in assists (5.7). Other top-five Lions in the SSC include Chelsea Williams (third in field goal percentage), Chelsea Connelly (tied for fourth in rebounding), and Guzman again (fifth in free throw percentage).
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SHARK STATS
• Wilkins moved to second in the conference and fourth in the nation in field goal percentage (62.1). Her points per game, 12.8, keeps her 10th in the league, but is percentage points away from two teammates:
Richelle Carach (Sr., Naples, Fla.) and
Danielle Robinson (Jr., Fort Lauderdale, Fla.). Wilkins' team-leading rebounding average of 7.3 is also 10th.
• Carach still does not qualify nationwide for her SSC-best field goal percentage of 66.7. It would be second in all of DII. Her 13.2 points per game is 8th in the league, and her free throw percentage of 88.7 is tops in the SSC and 24th in the nation.
• Robinson is ninth in scoring at 13.1. She is also fifth in steals (1.6) and eighth in 3-point percentage (39.4), and is just six points away from fourth place on the women's all-time scoring list.
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Taylor Buie (So., Puyallup, Wash.) continues to rank third in the conference in points per game, 16.4, and is still the league's best in 3-point percentage (44.3) and makes per game (2.9). Those rank her 11th and 13th, respectively, in the nation. She has scored in double digits in 14 of the Sharks' 16 games this season.
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Jessica Russi (Sr., Lake Mary, Fla.) still slots first in the league and second in the country in assists (8.5). She is third in the SSC in steals (2.0) and fifth in assist/turnover ratio (1.8). With 136 assists this year, she is already just three away from fourth place in the single-season record books, and only nine from third.
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Amanda Burakoski (Sr., Brooklyn, N.Y.) has moved into a tie for fourth in blocked shots in the SSC at 1.0 per game. She has had eight in her last three games, with three each against Rollins and Florida Tech and two against Tampa. Her 3-point marks of 39.5 percent and 1.9 makes tie her for sixth and eight, respectively, in the conference.
• The team leads the SSC in seven categories with high national marks in each: assists (first), 3-pointers made (third), field goal percentage (fourth), scoring offense (fifth), scoring margin (ninth), assist/turnover ratio (11th) and 3-point percentage (14th).
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