Box Score
MIAMI SHORES, Fla. – The No. 6 Nova Southeastern women's basketball team kept pace in the Sunshine State Conference standings by defeating rival Barry on the road on Wednesday, 86-73.
NSU (21-2, 11-2 SSC) stay tied in the loss column with SSC leader Tampa, who topped Eckerd earlier Wednesday to go to 12-2 in-conference. The Sharks and Spartans will face off on Saturday at the NSU Arena with the winner moving into first place (NSU will have two games after Saturday, Tampa just one). Rollins lurks just behind the two with an 11-3 mark.
On Wednesday, the Sharks scored the last nine points of the first half to open up an 18-point lead, but Barry (13-10, 5-8 SSC) came back to cut it to six on two occasions after the break. The latter came at the 7:58 mark, 64-58, but with a 14-5 run, NSU pushed back out by 15, 78-63, with 3:56 left.
Barry was able to get the game back to within single digits with a 7-1 spurt, and were still down nine with just 58 seconds left, 82-73. The Sharks would score the last four for the final margin of victory.
NSU's starting frontcourt of
Richelle Carach (Sr., Naples, Fla.) and
Jasmine Wilkins (R-Jr., Miami) combined for 40 points and 15 rebounds. Carach scored 21 on 6-of-9 shooting (and a career-best 3-of-4 from behind the arc) and had a team-high eight boards. Wilkins was 8-of-10 for 19 points and added seven rebounds.
Taylor Buie (So., Puyallup, Wash.) netted five 3-pointers for 15 points, while
Danielle Robinson (Jr., Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) added 11 points. The duo each also had four assists.
Jessica Russi (Sr., Lake Mary, Fla.) had six points, six rebounds and eight assists.
The Sharks only committed two first-half turnovers and tied their season low of 11 for the game.They shot an even 50 percent from the field for the game (28-of-56) while making 12-of-27 3-pointers, five from Buie, three from Carach, and one each for all four players off the bench.
Tyler Hardy led Barry with a double-double of 25 points and 11 rebounds. Kaylia Richardson added 20 points.
Tipoff for the Sharks and Tampa Saturday is at 2 p.m. The matchup will also go a long way in determining postseason ramifications, as NSU was chosen No. 1 on Wednesday in the first NCAA South Region rankings. Rollins is second and Tampa third, followed by Delta State and Albany State to round out the top five. Six through 10 is West Florida, Saint Leo, Benedict, Clark Atlanta and Alabama-Huntsville.
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