FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The Nova Southeastern Women’s Basketball team kicks off SSC tournament play tonight at the Rick Case Arena. Tip-off is set for 5:30 p.m. with NSU facing off against Florida Southern. The Sharks (21-7, 13-7 SSC) enter the SSC Championship Tournament as the fourth seed, while the Moccasins (14-13, 10-10 SSC) finished the regular season in fifth place.
The Sharks will make their 11th straight trip to the SSC tournament under the direction of Head Coach LeAnn Freeland-Curry. NSU has won the league three times, with their most recent victory coming in 2015.
Heading into the matchup, both teams split the season series. On January 1st, NSU secured the 78-67 victory over Florida Southern at the Rick Case Arena. Later that month, FSC defended their home court and pulled out the 66-58 win over Nova.
NSU is led by the offensive tandem of Madison Frederick and Hailey Conley. Frederick ranks third in the SSC in points per game (17.8), second in the conference in three-point percentage (41.7%) and she is also second in the league in assists per game (5.1). Conley has been putting up impressive numbers as well, ranking eighth in the conference in points per game (14.3.), and second in the league with 61 made three-pointers this season.
The tournament seeds are as follows, the University of Tampa earns the No. 1 seed, Eckerd College (No. 2), Lynn University (No. 3), Nova Southeastern University (No. 4), Florida Southern College (No. 5), Barry University (No. 6), Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (No. 7), and Saint Leo University (No. 8) round out this year’s tournament field.
Following Tuesday’s quarterfinal round, the Sunshine State Conference Tournament semifinal round will be played on Thursday, March 2, with the final being played on Sunday, March 5. Each round of the SSC Tournament will be played at the host site of the higher-seeded institution. The SSC champion will receive an automatic bid to the 2023 NCAA Division II Championships.
For complete coverage and to stay up-to-date on Nova Southeastern Women’s Basketball, follow on Instagram and Twitter – NSU_WBasketball.
