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FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The No. 11 Nova Southeastern University women's basketball team kicks off a stretch of seven conference games in a row on Wednesday night, on the road against Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, starting at 5:30 p.m.
With four Sunshine State Conference matchups in the books, the Sharks (12-1, 4-0 SSC) will see all but two more regular season games against league opposition, beginning Wednesday against the Tritons (7-3, 3-1 SSC). While NSU is the lone undefeated team in the SSC, Eckerd is one of four one-loss squads knocking on the door in second or third place.
NSU returned from holiday break by holding off a pesky Embry-Riddle squad on Saturday, 63-53. Meanwhile, this will be Eckerd's first game since Dec. 19, a win over non-conference foe Paine. The Tritons have won three of four and seven of nine, with senior guard Margaret Sundberg leading the squad in five statistical categories, including scoring at 11.9 a contest. Junior backcourt mate Victoria Vine is next in points per game at an even 10.0, while newcomer Kacie Juday, a sophomore transfer, is the team leader (and fourth in the conference), averaging 6.6 rebounds.
Two Shark juniors,
Taylor Buie (Puyallup, Wash.) and
Kayla Wright (Lauderhill, Fla.) combine to score nearly 30 of the team's conference-leading 78.4 points per game (at 15.3 and 14.0, respectively). NSU is also the SSC team leaders in assists, assist/turnover ratio, field goal and free throw percentage, as well as scoring margin. The squad's total number of assists is fourth in the nation, and assists per game is ninth. Also ranking high nationally are their marks in field goal percentage (11th), scoring offense (15th), 3-pointers made (16th), free throws made (17th) and assist/turnover ratio (22nd).
Individually,
Monaye Merritt (R-Sr., Philadelphia, Pa.) has three top-30 national showings: ninth in assists, 17th in assists per game and 27th in free throws made. All three lead the SSC as well, and the 5-6 guard is tied for third in blocked shots. Buie is 22nd overall and tied for first in the league in 3-pointers made; Wright is third in the SSC and 24th in the country in field goal percentage.
Overall all-time, the Sharks hold a 22-12 advantage, including winning each of the last five games and seven of eight. Last year, NSU swept the home-and-home regular season contests, 77-71 in St. Petersburg in early January and 69-66 in overtime in Fort Lauderdale a month later.
