Box Score KISSIMMEE, Fla. – The No. 24 and top-seeded Nova Southeastern University women's basketball team blew open a close game in the early minutes of the second half and never looked back in advancing past Saint Leo in their Sunshine State Conference quarterfinal game Thursday afternoon at the Silver Spurs Arena, 87-54.
The Sharks (22-5) scored the most points in an SSC postseason game since 2008, buoyed by 57 combined points from three players, more than the Saint Leo (9-18) total: a season-high 24 by
Danielle Robinson (Sr., Fort Lauderdale, Fla.), who went 4-of-5 from behind the arc and made her first eight free throws; 17 from
Jessica Valley (R-Jr., Lafayette, Ind.), 7-of-9 overall and 3-of-4 from 3-point land; and
Jasmine Wilkins (R-Sr., Miami), who notched 16 points on 7-of-9 shooting despite being double- and triple-teamed all game long.
It was a three-point NSU lead with 1:39 to go in the first half, 34-31. Robinson hit her third 3-pointer before the break with 46 seconds left to go, and after two missed opportunities by the Lions on their next possession,
Alexis Murphy (Jr., Carlisle, Ohio) hit a '3' of her own with four seconds left to push the advantage to nine at 40-31.
The beginning of the second half was all Sharks. The teams traded baskets before NSU scored the next 13 points to lead 55-35 at 12:54. At the end of the run, the Sharks had tallied 20 of the 24 second-half points and outscored the Lions 26-4 in total to go up 60-35 (11:37).
Late in the half, NSU tacked on 14 more straight points to hold off any chance at a comeback, and had a high lead of 37. Two
Ashley Arinus (Fr., Parkland, Fla.) free throws at 2:58 pushed the team's scoring total past Tampa's 84 points in 2010 for the most in the tournament in the last eight seasons.
The Sharks shot 55.2 percent from the field in the second half (16-of-29) and held Saint Leo to 30.4 percent after the break and 34.5 percent overall. They held a huge rebounding edge, 46-31, led by Wilkins' nine,
Winter Rodriguez (So., Miami) with a career-best eight, and Valley with seven.
Rodriguez had nine points to go along with her eight boards and also had the first blocked shot of her career, one of the Sharks' season-high of seven.
Monaye Merritt (R-Jr., Philadelphia) had a career-high three blocks and matched her best of nine assists (against just two turnovers), contributing to the Sharks' team total of 22 against only seven turnovers (that mark tying the program's all-time low). Besides the blocked shots, the team defense came up with 10 steals and forced 13 Lion turnovers, 10 after the break.
The Sharks now move on to Saturday's SSC semifinal round, where they will take on the No. 5-seeded Tampa. The Spartans defeated fourth seed Florida Tech in Thursday's second quarterfinal, 69-52. Tipoff for the first semi on Saturday will be at noon.
