Box Score
DAVIE â€" Though freshman Mariah Harris was again a bright spot for the Moccasins with 14 points and 10 rebounds, Nova Southeastern used its 3-point shooting and a big run to end the first half to down Florida Southern, 76-53 on Saturday afternoon.
Florida Southern (7-6, 2-2 Sunshine State Conference) either held the lead or was within a single possession for most of the first half. Even after falling behind 14-8, the Moccasins were able to quickly tie the score again and take a 16-14 lead just over eight minutes into the game. Seniors Kirstin McIntyre (Hopewell Junction, NY) and Tracy Fosterling (Albuquerque, NM) were the early scoring leaders for the Mocs during that time, with each player scoring six points.
The game turned in Nova’s favor after that, however, as the Sharks (10-3, 2-1) out-scored the Moccasins 15-2 over the next four minutes, and 27-12 over the final 11 minutes of the first half. A basket by McIntyre at the 9:06 mark kept it a one-possession game, but the Sharks scored eight straight points after that, with back-to-back 3-pointers from Meixandra Porter and Amanda Burakoski, and a layup by Taylor Buie, all in the span of about 50 seconds. The Mocs were still within nine with three minutes to play before halftime, but the Sharks scored the next six points before a basket by senior Alexis Hochstetler (Sarasota, FL) made it 41-28 Nova at the break.
Nova started the second half with a Burakoski jumper and another 3-pointer by Porter. The Sharks out-scored the Mocs 13-3 in the first eight minutes to take a commanding 54-31 lead. They led by as many as 25 on two different occasions after that.
The Sharks finished the game shooting 53 percent from 3-point range (10-for-19) and were at 53 percent overall as well. The Moccasins were 1-for-3 from long range, with that 3-pointer coming from Hochstetler, and shot 38 percent overall.
Harris, a freshman forward from Gainesville, led the Moccasins in both scoring and rebounding while going 5-for-12 from the floor and 4-for-6 from the free throw line. Fosterling scored 13 points and had five boards, and McIntyre added 12 points and three rebounds.
Nova had four players in double digits, led by Burakoski, who scored 17 points and tied for the team lead with five rebounds. Porter and Buie each scored 15, and Danielle Robinson scored 10. Burakoski and Porter had identical numbers from behind the arc, with each player making three in five tries.
Florida Southern returns home for its next game on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. when it hosts Eckerd College.
