NSU LIVE AUDIO | TAMPA VIDEO (SUBSCRIPTION REQUIRED) | LIVE STATS | GAME NOTES FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The No. 23 Nova Southeastern University women's basketball team looks to avenge one of its two Sunshine State Conference losses this season on Saturday, traveling to Tampa to take on the Spartans at 2 p.m.
The Sharks (14-4, 6-2 SSC) are in second place in the league standings here at the halfway point, tied with Florida Tech, with Tampa (12-6, 5-3 SSC) a game back of that, even with Eckerd. Rollins at 7-1 is atop the ledger currently. Besides NSU and Tampa, FIT pairs off with Eckerd on the road Saturday while Rollins hosts Lynn.
NSU has won their last three conference contests, including a 69-55 decision over Saint Leo this past Wednesday.
Danielle Robinson (Sr., Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) led the way with 18 points;
Jasmine Wilkins (R-Sr., Miami) and
Kayla Wright (So., Lauderhill, Fla.) each had 12 points, with twin 6-of-10 shooting lines; and
Jessica Valley (R-Jr., Lafayette, Ind.) had her second straight double-double (and third this season) with 10 points and a game-best 11 rebounds, along with a team-high six assists.
Tampa has won four out of five games after dropping two straight in-conference earlier this month, to Eckerd and Florida Tech. In the league since then, they have defeated Saint Leo and Florida Southern, lost to Rollins, and on Wednesday, topped Barry.
Earlier this year, UT sent the Sharks to their second loss in a row, 76-75 at the NSU Arena. At the time, 5-2 NSU was ranked fourth in the country and the Spartans, at 6-1, were ninth. The game was played extremely even, with 13 lead changes and 11 ties. The score was tied for the last time at 72-72 with 1:42 to go. Four free throws down the stretch gave the Spartans a two-possession lead, and though
Monaye Merritt (R-Jr., Philadelphia) hit a 3-pointer just before the final horn, UT escaped with the one-point victory.
Each team had four players in double digits, with the Sharks' combo of Robinson and Merritt combining for 37, at 19 and 18, respectively. Wilkins had 15 points in 14 minutes, on 7-of-11 shooting, while Wright went 6-of-8 from the field for 12 points. Juliana Cavallaro had 17 to lead Tampa, all coming in the second half. Candace Martino had 14, Taylor McVey 12 and Ellen Nurmi 10.
On the season, Cavallaro is UT's team leader in points per game (15.1), rebounds (5.7), 3-pointers made per game (2.0) and percentage (.419), free throw percentage (.818) and steals (1.4). Her highest league rankings are second in scoring, fourth in free throw success and 3-pointers made and fifth in 3-point percentage. Aisha Rodney is second on the team at 13.3 points and is also second in the SSC in field goal shooting at 60 percent even.
In that category, Rodney trails Wilkins (62.9), first in the conference and second in all of DII, and is just ahead of Wright (58.0), fourth league-wide (and if she qualified, would place her 14th in the nation). Others amongst the conference leaders for the Sharks are Merritt (first in steals, 2.7), Wilkins (tied for first in blocks at 1.5), Robinson (fifth in scoring, 14.6) and
Molly Blomer (Jr., West Chester, Ohio) and Robinson, tied for fifth in 3-pointers per game at 1.9.
Tampa will provide live streaming of Saturday's game, but it is a fee-based service. The link is available at the top of this page.
