COLUMBUS, Ohio – Heading into its fourth NCAA Div. II Elite 8 in seven years, the Nova Southeastern women's basketball team will look to continue its hot postseason win streak against the No. 1 Drury Panthers on Tuesday, March 26 at 6:00 p.m.
The Sharks (21-11) made a statement in the South Region Tournament, taking down the No. 2 seed Union Bulldogs and No. 3 seed West Florida Argonauts before downing the top-seeded Florida Southern Moccasins in the regional final to earn a berth to this year's Elite 8. NSU is no stranger to the Elite 8, making three-consecutive trips from 2013-15. The Sharks will look to make their second appearance in the Final Four in program history on Tuesday evening. To get there, they have to get past the champions of the Midwest Region and No. 1 seed overall, Drury.
The Panthers (34-0) are the last team left in Div. II with a perfect record, making their 16th national tournament appearance in just their 19th year of existence as a program and are playing in their fourth Elite Eight. Drury is 29-16 all-time in the national tournament and previously has won regional championships in 2014, 2007, and 2004.
Hailey Diestelkamp is the spearhead for the Panthers, averaging 21.0 points per game and 8.9 rebounds. On March 9, she broke the program's all-time rebounding record, entering the Elite Eight with 850 career boards. Diestelkamp also broke Drury's single-season scoring record, coming in with 714 points. Defensively, the Sharks will need to look out for Daejah Bernard, who leads the country with her 125 steals.
Nova Southeastern will lean on its senior captains,
Alison Hughes and
Christen Prasse, to lead their offense. Currently, the two are leading the squad with 14.4 and 13.2 points per game, respectively. Both named to the 2019 South Region All-Tournament Team, and Hughes earning the title of most outstanding player, the two are averaging 18.7 and 18.3 points in the NCAA Tournament. In the regional semifinal game, Prasse scored 39 points and connected on nine three-pointers, both program-highs. In NSU's regional championship game, Hughes tallied six threes, also setting a new school record in three's in a single season with 98.
Mikayla Thompson has also made an impact during the Sharks' postseason run, averaging 7.0 rebounds a game, a team-high.
The winner of Tuesday's game will advance to the national semifinals on Wednesday and will face the winner of No. 4 North Georgia and No. 5 Lubbock Christian at 8:30 p.m. EST.
