FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The newly-minted No. 1 Nova Southeastern University women's basketball team has their first two games as the top-ranked team in Division II when they host Stillman and Union in their annual Thanksgiving Classic this weekend at the NSU Arena.
The Sharks will have 2 p.m. tipoffs, first against 0-4 Stillman on Friday and then will turn their attention to Union, 2-0 to start the year, on Saturday. NSU received 24 out of a possible 30 first-place votes to earn their first-ever No. 1 ranking in school history, in Tuesday's USA Today Coaches' Poll, while also topping the national rankings in the DII Media Poll, sponsored by D2SIDA.
The team is coming off back-to-back wins in Savannah, Georgia, in two tough battles. They defeated Clayton State and Armstrong State in back-to-back days, each by single digits.
Danielle Robinson (Sr., Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) has continued to lead a balanced scoring attack (and ranks third in the conference) at 16 points per game, and there are three more Sharks averaging double digits:
Kayla Wright (So., Lauderhill, Fla.) at 14.5,
Monaye Merritt (R-Jr., Philadelphia) at 13.0 and
Jasmine Wilkins (R-Sr., Miami) at 12.8.
All three of those players also rank among the nation's best statistically in another category. Merritt leads all DII players in steals at 5.3 per after notching nine against Armstrong, while Wilkins is third in field goal shooting at 71.4 percent. Wright, at 68.4 percent, is not far behind her, in 16th place overall.
Stillman has fallen at the hands of Concordia-Selma, West Alabama, North Georgia and Delta State to start the season. Their last matchup was a 61-35 loss at Delta on Monday night. Union, now eligible for postseason play for the first time since joining DII and the Gulf South Conference, has topped Rust and Tennessee Temple, by an average of 24.5 points. They received 50 votes in Tuesday's coaches' poll, which would rank them 31st. The Sharks have not faced either school ever in their history.
Both Shark matchups, again, will begin at 2 p.m. Fellow Sunshine State Conference school will flip-flop the NSU opponents, facing Union on Friday at 4 p.m., and Stillman the following day at that same time. There will also be two men's games each day, at 6 p.m. and 8 p.m., with the NSU men playing Puerto-Rico Mayaguez Friday and Seton Hill Saturday in each nightcap, and Lynn going at 6 p.m. against those two teams, but in the opposite order.
