Box Score
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – In a game featuring 23 ties, Florida Tech had the 18th and final lead change, and held off the Nova Southeastern women's squad on their Senior Night, 85-80 on Wednesday at the NSU Arena.
The Sharks (21-4, 11-4 SSC) led for the last time with 5:39 to go, 72-70. Florida Tech (16-11. 7-8 SSC) scored the next four to move ahead for good. The Sharks would tie it at 74-74, before four straight by FIT's Rita Acevedo pushed them back ahead 78-74 with 3:24 to go.
The Panthers continued to lead outright from then until exactly 1:00 remaining, when the final tie came on an old-fashioned three-point play by
Jessica Russi (Sr., Lake Mary, Fla.). The Sharks' point guard scored the last five for the team, these three making it 80-80.
Acevedo continued her late roll by knocking down the go-ahead jumper with 44 seconds to go. She had scored 10 straight for the Panthers at that point. Down two, the Sharks'
Jasmine Wilkins (R-Jr., Miami, Fla.) missed a lay-in and was fouled on the putback, but she came up empty at the line. FIT was able to make 3-of-4 from the stripe on their next two trips to close out the five-point win.
Wilkins led NSU with 16 points on 7-of-10 shooting as well as with a game-high eight rebounds.
Danielle Robinson (Jr., Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) had 14 points and seven rebounds,
Richelle Carach (Sr., Naples, Fla.) had 13 points on 6-of-7 shooting, and
Taylor Buie (So., Puyallup, Wash.) chipped in with 11. Russi finished with seven points, five rebounds and eight assists, with just two turnovers.
Russi and Carach each played their final regular season home game at the NSU Arena, as did
Amanda Burakoski (Sr., Brooklyn, N.Y.) and
Julia Salmio (Sr., Vantaa, Finland). Burakoski had all eight of her points in the second half (going 3-for-5 after the break), while Salmio was a perfect 2-of-2 from the floor for four points while adding three rebounds and a blocked shot.
The Sharks fell despite shooting 57 percent from the field for the game and outrebounding the Panthers, 37-32. FIT was able to convert 21 NSU turnovers (14 in the first half) into a 23-12 points-off-turnover edge.
The visitors were led by Kayk Wilson with 25 points on 9-of-20 shooting (but just 2-of-11 from 3-point range). Acevedo had 22 points and was 10-of-20 from the field, and Jasmire Brown came off the bench to add 10.
The Sharks will end the regular season on the road this Saturday, taking on the Saint Leo Lions for a 2 p.m. tipoff. They will either be the No. 2 or No. 3 seed in the following week's SSC Championships, needing a win and a loss by Rollins on Saturday to be the higher of those two slots.
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