Lee Today

Nova Southeastern University recently issued the following announcement.

Offense held to season-low 34 points

The Nova Southeastern women's basketball team, playing their first true road game of the season, were dispatched by the Eckerd Tritons, 66-34, on Saturday afternoon in a Sunshine State Conference meeting at the McArthur Center.

 

INSIDE THE MATCHUP

Records: Nova Southeastern: 5-4 (1-2 SSC), Eckerd: 5-0 (3-0 SSC)

Score: Nova Southeastern 34, Eckerd 66

Location: St. Petersburg, Fla. | McArthur Center

Get Social: Instagram & Twitter – NSU_WBasketball

 

HOW IT HAPPENED

1ST QUARTER – The two teams traded the game's first few points, with the Tritons starting with a pair of layups and the Sharks responding a layup by McKenah Peters and a Keanna Williams 3-pointer for a 5-4 lead. Unfortunately, that would be their only lead of the game, though after another pair of Eckerd layups, Grace Gilmore did tie the game with a trey of her own. A layup by Williams to draw back within one at the 4:37 mark, however, served as their last field goal of the quarter, as the Tritons reeled off 11 in a row to double their point total and take a 22-10 lead at the whistle.

2ND QUARTER – The Sharks forced four turnovers in the first 2:30 of the next period, leading to the quarter's first five points, but they missed eight of their next nine shots before halftime and once again, didn't score after the 4:00 mark, while the Tritons went on a 10-0 run, punctuated by a perfect trip to the line on a 3-shot foul with two seconds left, for a 36-18 advantage.

3RD QUARTER – Out of the break, the Sharks got as close as 15 points (38-23) with 6:36 left, but only made scored two free throws the rest of the frame, while another last-second foul gave Eckerd their largest margin of the day, at 46-25.

4TH QUARTER – The Sharks were outscored 20-9 in the final ten minutes, as a streak of ten consecutive missed field goals carried over from the third period until nearly three minutes into this one.

 

STATS OF THE GAME

After entering the game with eight points in five games, A'lexus Bryant led the team with 12 points as the only Shark in double figures. The junior transfer from Savannah State was 5-of-13 from the field and also collected a season-high five rebounds in 18 bench minutes, twice as many as her previous best.

After allowing the Tritons to shoot a torrid 10-of-12 (83.3%) from the field and 2-for-2 from beyond the arc in the first period, the Sharks defense tightened up, holding their opponents to just 8-for-20 and 1-of-6, respectively, in the middle two quarters, while forcing 13 turnovers.

The Sharks won the turnover battle, committing 15 for the game, compared to the Tritons' total of 20, and had an 11-8 edge in offensive rebounds.

The Eckerd defense, which allowed just 29 points to Lynn in their first game of the season, held the Sharks to their lowest point total since February 17, 2007, a 44-33 loss at Florida Tech, and their lowest number of field goals since the very next game, at Tampa on February 24, in which they shot just 12-52 from the field. The Sharks also had their lowest team field goal percentage since February 3, 2010, when the team was 14-59 (.237) from the field in a home loss to Tampa.

 

UPCOMING

The Sharks will have a week off to re-tool before their next game, when they return home to welcome the Florida Tech Panthers to the Rick Case Arena, with tip-off set for 2:00 PM.

Original source can be found here.