FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Ringing in 2018 on a high note, the Nova Southeastern University women's basketball team used a balanced offensive attack and a strong defensive showing in an 81-55 blowout of the No. 22 Eckerd Tritons at the Rick Case Arena on Wednesday evening.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
FINAL: W, 81-55
RECORDS: Nova Southeastern (8-4, 4-2 SSC), Eckerd Tritons (11-3, 5-2 SSC)
LOCATION: Rick Case Arena | Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
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HOW IT HAPPENED:
1ST QUARTER | The game started fairly quietly, with the Tritons in front for the entire opening frame, but never by more than four points.
Christen Prasse twice brought the Sharks within one, first with a pair of free throws less than two minutes in, then with a 3-pointer less than two minutes after that. Despite forcing seven turnovers, the Sharks were unable to capitalize and turn them into any points and faced a 13-9 deficit at quarter's end.
2ND QUARTER | Eckerd started the second period with two more buckets to take an 8-point lead, their largest of the game. That seemed to ignite a fire for the Sharks, as they went on an 11-2 run over the next three minutes to take their first lead of the night, a slim 20-19 advantage. After 2:30 without a score from either side, the Tritons broke the silence with a layup to regain the lead, but it last all of ten seconds before Prasse responded with a layup of her own to kick off another extended Sharks run, this time 9-2 to enter halftime with a 33-27 edge.
3RD QUARTER | The Sharks maintained the pressure out of the break, increasing their lead into double-digit territory for the first time just 73 seconds in. An 8-1 Triton run turned a margin of a dozen into a game separated by just five points, but once again, seeing the opponent in their rearview got the Sharks back into gear. They went back up by ten, 48-38, within 40 seconds and then all the way up to 16 (54-38) on the back of 11-straight points. Eckerd hit one free throw before the clock expired on the quarter.
4TH QUARTER | The lead only got larger in the final period, hitting 20 points twice and staying in that range for nearly the game's final six minutes. The margin reached a game-high 28 points with 1:21 remaining when
Hailey Conley hit the first field goal of her collegiate career, a 3-pointer, to give the Sharks 80 points for the fourth consecutive game.
INSIDE THE STATS:
- Prasse, in just her second game back, scored a game-high 20 points without missing a single shot all game. She was a perfect 7-of-7 from the field, including 3-for-3 from long distance, and 3-of-3 at the foul line, as well. She also added four assists, three rebounds, three steals and a block.
- Maria Bardeeva earned her first start of the season and scored a season-high 15 points, her first in double digits, on 7-of-11 shooting.
- Conley played in just the fourth game of her career and scored for the first time. She notched six points and four rebounds in 11 minutes of action.
- Alison Hughes reached double digits for the fifth game in a row and is shooting exactly 50 percent (19-of-38) from beyond the arc over that span. Her scoring average is up to 11.2 on the season and her 3-point percentage at .471 (32-of-68).
- Cheray Saunders was the fourth Shark to tally double-digit points, added 10 and a team-high six boards.
BEYOND THE BOXSCORE:
- Entering the game as the 22nd-ranked team in the nation by D2SIDA and among the top-50 in terms of scoring defense at 59.3 points per game, Eckerd allowed the Sharks to score 22 points above that average, while the NSU defense held the Triton offense to 17 points below their season average of 71.8 per game.
- The Sharks were 11-of-24 (.458) from 3-point range, the most 3's the Tritons have allowed in a game all season and well above their averages of 4.9 allowed and a .286 percentage. On the other end, Eckerd made just 3 of their 14 attempts, compared to their average of 8.4 per game.
UP NEXT
The Sharks will hit the road for the first time since Nov. 15, traveling up to Winter Park, Fla. to face off the Rollins Tars on Saturday at 2:00 p.m.
SHARKS ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Follow along with live updates on Twitter by following @NSU_WBasketball.
