Box Score
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Danielle Robinson scored 20 points to spark a high-flying offense as Nova Southeastern University defeated the Eckerd College women's basketball program on Saturday afternoon, 84-58.
Tailor Jones added 17, Meixandra Porter contributed 16 and Amanda Burkoski poured in a dozen more for the Sharks (9-3, 1-1 SSC), who spoiled the Sunshine State Conference home opener for the Tritons (4-5, 1-1 SSC).
Senior forward
Krystal Charles led the way for Eckerd with 15 points while sophomore guard
Kayla Bowlin netted nine of her season-high 11 in the first half.
Charles was coming off a season-high 20 points in the team's final game of 2012 against Adelphi (N.Y.) University.
Sophomore
Rana Thomas scored nine points and grabbed a game-high seven rebounds in a reserve role.
After defeating then-No. 13 Rollins College on the road in its SSC opener, the Tritons moved to .500 in the league standings. EC had defeated NSU in four consecutive regular-season meetings coming into today's contest.
The Sharks shot over 56 percent from the field and with an offense that came in averaging 82.3 points per game, the SSC's highest-scoring squad this year, it turned out to be a pick-your-poison type of distribution with the weapons at NSU's disposal.
Jones dished out eight assists while Porter and Burakoski combined to shoot 12-of-16 from the floor.
Nova Southeastern went wire-to-wire for the win, beginning the contest with an 8-0 run and eventually leading by as many as 30 with under four minutes in regulation.
EC was able to get the offense tracked midway through the first half and trailed by just two points following a trip to the line by freshman
Annie Armstrong.
The Sharks extended their lead to double-digits again, but Eckerd made its final two possessions of the first half count with a pair of layups to keep the margin very respectable going into the break down by 10, 39-29.
Eckerd whittled the deficit to seven early in the second half, but a Jones' three sparked an 11-0 run that concluded with a three-point play by Robinson in transition.
Junior forward
Liga Vente converted a three-point play of her own with 9:04 left to play and Nova Southeastern answered with another strong run, this one a 15-3 streak spanning nearly six minutes of game action.
EC made 19-of-21 tries at the free throw line, but struggled from long range, making 1-of-11 tries from beyond the arc.
The Tritons continue the busy SSC schedule next week at home, hosting undefeated No. 16 University of Tampa (9-0 overall) in the McArthur Center for a Wednesday showdown scheduled to get underway at 5:30 p.m.
