FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The Nova Southeastern women's basketball team set the defensive tone early on in their victory over the Barry Buccaneers and never looked back, scoring the first points 40 seconds in and maintaining their lead throughout the rest of the game for a 62-51 final in the first game of Sunshine State Conference play on Wednesday evening at the Rick Case Arena.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
FINAL: W, 62-51
RECORDS: Nova Southeastern University Sharks (4-2, 1-0 SSC), Barry Buccaneers (2-4, 0-1 SSC)
LOCATION: Rick Case Arena | Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
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HOW IT HAPPENED:
1ST QUARTER | The Sharks began the game on an 11-0 run spanning nearly five and a half minutes, as they kept the Bucs scoreless on their first seven possessions, forcing six missed field goals and three turnovers. Barry finally got on the board with a three-pointer at the 4:33 mark followed by a layup, but the Sharks returned the favor of Barry's 5-0 run with a 7-0 stretch of their own, for a game-high 13-point lead (18-5), before the Bucs closed the scoring of the quarter with another triple. In the quarter, the Sharks held the Buccaneers to just 18.8 percent shooting from the field (3-of-16), including 1-of-8 on two-point attempts.
2ND QUARTER | The second quarter scoring started with a
Megan Piggott three-pointer, but Barry responded with a pair of bookended 7-0 runs as part of an extended 16-4 run spanning the last 8:30 of the first half. They had a chance to tie the game going into the break, but only made one of two at the line, as the Sharks barely held onto their lead, up by a single point at 25-24.
3RD QUARTER | The teams traded baskets at the beginning of the second half, with one-point margins again at the 8:10 and 6:15 marks. A Bucs layup 49 seconds later forced a Sharks timeout, and they returned to the court energized by the pep talk, as
Iva Ilic hit back-to-back three-pointers and they soon led by double digits once again before Barry closed the quarter with five in a row to narrow the lead slightly to 45-38 heading into the final period.
4TH QUARTER | The Sharks were able to keep the Bucs at bay to start the quarter.
Claire McMahon converted an old-fashioned three-point play to bring the lead back to 10. After the Bucs scored five straight, Piggott held them off with a jumper, then a three-pointer by Jannifer Rodriguez with 5:13 left after a Barry layup. Though that would be the Sharks' last made field goal, they were able to add to their score at the foul line, making 9-of-12 attempts in the final five minutes, while also holding the Bucs off the scoreboard on their last six possessions, finishing them off with a 7-0 run.
INSIDE THE STATS:
- Hailey Conley led three Sharks in double figures with 12 points off the bench, as well as a team-high three assists.
- Claire McMahon and Alison Hughes tallied 10 points each, with McMahon also contributing team-highs in rebounds (eight), blocks (five) and steals (two).
- Ilic added in eight points and five rebounds in a reserve role.
- The Sharks allowed the Bucs to shoot just 33.9 percent from the field, the lowest by a Sharks opponent this season, which helped the Sharks bring down a season-high 40 rebounds, including 30 on the defensive end.
BEYOND THE BOXSCORE:
- The Sharks defense allowed their fewest points in a game since a 64-44 home win over Saint Leo on January 13th of this year.
- In her Sharks debut last Friday, Claire McMahon became the first player with five or more blocks in a game since NSU Sharks Class of 2017 Hall of Fame inductee Stephanie Sarosi had her 24th and final such game against Florida Southern on Feb. 26, 2011. Tonight, McMahon, with her second five-block effort in three games, became just the fifth player in program history to accomplish the feat twice in a career, joining Sarosi (2008-2011), Sharnel Carr (6, 1998-2000), Charity Rainey (5, 2002-2003) and Jessica Pate (2, 2001-2002).
- The Sharks improved their all-time record against Barry to 26-18, including 12-3 at home as SSC rivals.
- This is the fourth year in a row in which the Sharks started their conference schedule with a victory.
UP NEXT:
The Sharks will hit the road in SSC play for the first time this season when they head to Daytona Beach to face off against the Embry-Riddle Eagles, with tip-off scheduled for 4:00 p.m.
SHARKS ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Follow along with live updates on Twitter by following @NSU_WBasketball.
