KISSIMMEE, Fla. – Barry University women’s basketball team lost to Nova Southeastern, 83-67, Thursday in the Sunshine State Conference Championships quarterfinals at Silver Spurs Arena.
The eighth-seeded Buccaneers (15-13) finished with their second straight winning season and fifth in the past six years. Top-seeded Nova (20-7) advances to Saturday’s semifinals.
Colette Eule scored 21 points, and had seven rebounds for the Bucs, who battled the Sharks to five lead changes and three ties in the game. Tyler Hardy finished with 14 points on six of 12 shooting, and had six rebounds.
Less than six minutes into the second half, Eule grabbed an offensive rebound, scored on the putback and drew the foul. She hit the free throw to convert the three-point play, pulling Barry within 50-38 with 14:10 to play. Eule drained a triple 2:17 later as the Buccaneers trimmed the gap to 10.
Jackie Perez hit a triple with the shot clock wearing down to pull Barry within seven, 55-48, and Eule sank one of two free throws to make it a six-point game at the 10:33 mark.
After Pisconeri scored on an offensive putback with 8:45 on the clock, NSU’s Danielle Robinson hit a three, Meixandra Porter converted a three-point play, and Amanda Burakoski added another bucket to widen the lead back to 14 as part of a 10-3 NSU run.
Barry was never able to get within single figures the rest of the way, pulling within 12 twice – on a pair of free throws by Hardy at the 7:35 mark and a three-point play by Eule with 1:49 remaining. But it was too little, too late as the Sharks kept answering on the offensive end.
The Buccaneers shot 37.7 percent from the field, going 26 of 69. The Sharks hit 49.1 percent on a 27 of 55 shooting performance. Barry was 5-for-22 from beyond the three-point line. Nova was 12-for-28 from long distance.
The Bucs, who beat the Sharks, 70-65, to cap the regular season on Senior Night at Health & Sports Center in Miami Shores, outrebounded NSU Thursday, 39-37. The Bucs, who sported their red uniforms for the first time, outscored the Sharks in the paint, 34-28, and 15-9 in second chance opportunities.
Kaley Howard finished with nine points, nine rebounds, three assists and two steals. Senior Dominique Dixon had eight points, five steals, four assists and three boards. Senior Amanda Frontino had eight rebounds, five points, an assist and a steal. Perez was 2-for-6 from long range for six points.
Hardy scored on a layup at the 11:29 mark of the first half to tie the game at 18-18. Nova went on a 6-0 run before Howard’s bucket halted the Sharks’ separation push. NSU extended its lead back to 11 with 7:18 remaining in the half, but a field goal by Hardy and three-pointer by Frontino cut it to eight 3:28 later.
Hardy’s layup at the 2:07 mark of the first half made it a seven-point game, and Dixon sank two free throws 28 seconds before the buzzer as Barry cut it to 36-31. Nova’s Meixandra Porter converted a three-point play with 15 seconds left on the first half clock as the Sharks took an eight-point lead into the intermission.
Porter scored 25 points, and Robinson had 16 points and six boards for the Sharks.
The Bucs scored 13 points off turnovers as compared to the Sharks’ nine.
SSC Championships Quarterfinals
at Silver Spurs Arena
NOVA SOUTHEASTERN 83, BARRY 67
BARRY (15-13)
EULE, Colette 7-17 5-6 21; HARDY, Tyler 6-12 2-2 14; HOWARD, Kaley 4-9 1-2
9; DIXON, Dominique 3-10 2-2 8; PEREZ, Jackie 2-9 0-0 6; FRONTINO, Amanda
2-8 0-0 5; PISCONERI, Danika 2-4 0-3 4. Totals 26-69 10-15 67.
NOVA SOUTHEASTERN (20-7)
PORTER, Meixandra 8-14 6-6 25; ROBINSON, Danielle 6-11 2-4 16; BURAKOSKI,
Amanda 6-10 0-0 15; JONES, Tailor 3-5 2-2 10; BUIE, Taylor 2-4 2-2 8; RUSSI,
Jessica 2-5 2-2 6; CARACH, Richelle 0-3 2-2 2; MURPHY, Alexis 0-1 1-2 1;
SALMIO, Julia 0-0 0-0 0; BLOMER, Molly 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 27-55 17-20 83.
Barry......................... 31 36 - 67
Nova Southeastern............. 39 44 - 83
3-point goals--Barry 5-22 (EULE, Colette 2-7; PEREZ, Jackie 2-6; FRONTINO,
Amanda 1-5; DIXON, Dominique 0-4), Nova Southeastern 12-28 (BURAKOSKI,
Amanda 3-7; PORTER, Meixandra 3-8; JONES, Tailor 2-2; ROBINSON, Danielle
2-5; BUIE, Taylor 2-3; BLOMER, Molly 0-1; RUSSI, Jessica 0-2). Fouled
out--Barry-HOWARD, Kaley, Nova Southeastern-None. Rebounds--Barry 39
(HOWARD, Kaley 9), Nova Southeastern 37 (RUSSI, Jessica 7; JONES, Tailor 7).
Assists--Barry 11 (DIXON, Dominique 4), Nova Southeastern 18 (JONES, Tailor
6; RUSSI, Jessica 6). Total fouls--Barry 14, Nova Southeastern 15. Technical
fouls--Barry-None, Nova Southeastern-None. A-159