FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The No. 18 Nova Southeastern University women's basketball team aims for their third consecutive South Region Championship, traveling to Jackson, Tennessee as the region's second seed to face seventh-seeded Kentucky State in their NCAA Tournament opener on Friday afternoon.
 
The Sharks (24-5), as both Sunshine State Conference regular season and tournament champions, drew Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference at-large KSU (22-5), and will tip off against the Thorobrettes at 3:30 p.m. EST from Union University's Fred DeLay Gymnasium. This is the third straight NCAA appearance and fourth in history for the NSU women's basketball program, who are 7-3 all-time in tournament play.
 
NSU swept through last week's SSC Championships, winning their three games by an average of 23.3 points, and holding their opponents to 48.3 points per game and only 35.4 percent field goal shooting. Danielle Robinson (Sr., Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) was named tournament MVP, averaging 15 points and 7.3 rebounds per game and making 9-of-18 3-pointers. Also on the All-Tourney team were Jessica Valley (R-Jr., Lafayette, Ind.) at 12.3 points, five rebounds and three assist per, along with 66.7 percent shooting from the field and a 7-of-11 mark from behind the arc; along with Jasmine Wilkins (R-Sr., Miami), at 12.7 points and eight rebounds a contest.
 
Kentucky State won their final 13 games of the regular season and their first game in the SIAC Tournament before falling in the semifinals to Albany State, 79-64. They boast three double-digit scorers, led by Shaia Horton's 12.1 points per game. Post player Shaquanda Wiggins, a 6-2 senior, averages 11.7 points and a team-best 8.5 rebounds, and her 63.5 percent shooting ranks second in the nation, just ahead of the Sharks' Wilkins, in third at 61.6.
 
The eight-team region field boasts four of the top 17 shooting teams in all of DII, led by NSU's No. 13 showing at 45.5 percent, while Kentucky State is 17th at 44.9. The Sharks also have the region's highest assist average, 15th nationally at 16.5, and are second in the field and 59th in the nation in scoring offense (72.0). NSU is second in the region and 50th in DII in 3-point offense at 32.6 percent, while conversely, the KSU 3-point defense ranks KSU is third in the region and 26th in DII defense at 27.6 percent).
 
Again, Shark fans can tune in to the game live at 3:30 p.m. Eastern Standard time, 2:30 p.m. Jackson time in the Central Time Zone.The South Region semifinals will be the following day, Saturday, March 14. Should NSU advance past Kentucky State, they would take on a Sunshine State Conference rival in either No. 3 seed Eckerd or No. 6 Rollins at 6 p.m. EST.