FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- No. 4 Nova Southeastern buried a school-record 19 3-pointers on their way to another new program standard, 110 points, in taking their Sunshine State Conference opener against Florida Southern Saturday at the NSU Arena, 110-65.
The Sharks (7-0, 1-0 SSC) shot 64.5 percent from the field (40-of-62) to set another new mark, and adding her name to the record books yet again was point guard Jessica Russi, breaking her own mark for the third time, with 15 assists on Saturday. She also only committed one turnover on the afternoon.
Taylor Buie hit the game's first two shots, two 3-pointers to stake the Sharks to a 6-0 lead. The team would miss their next two, but, beginning with Buie's third '3' at the 13:06 mark, made their next four long-range shots, and made nine of 12 from that distance to complete the first half.
No. 1 Bentley 81, St. Michael's College 68
WALTHAM, Mass. -- Runs of 10-2, 12-0 and 17-0 produced a 39-8 lead with six minutes still to play in the opening half and Bentley, the No. 1-ranked team, went on to an 81-68 win against St. Michael's in Northeast-10 Conference action Saturday afternoon at the Dana Center.
Just as was the case in Tuesday's 76-52 win against Merrimack, a trio of 1,000-point scorers topped the scoring list for the undefeated Falcons (9-0, 6-0 NE-10). Grad student and All-Region guard Courtney Finn scored 16 points, senior All-America forward Lauren Battista followed with 14 and senior All-Conference post Jacqui Brugliera finished with 13.
No. 2 Gannon 69, Mercyhurst 57
ERIE, Pa. -- No. 2 Gannon used a late-second half surge to defeat crosstown Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) West-Division rival the Mercyhurst Lakers 69-57 on Saturday evening at the Hammermill Center. The Lady Knights continue their win streak, moving to 8-0 on the season and 4-0 in divisional play, while the Lakers drop to 1-6 overall and 1-2 in the league.
Dropping 10 of their last 11 games at the Hammermill Center, the Lady Knights' home court has not treated the Lakers kindly throughout the years. The Lady Knights have captured five-consecutive games against the Lakers since the 2011-12 season, extending their all-time series to a 54-26 lead.
Reaching double digits for the Lady Knights were junior Nettie Blake and senior Jen Papich. Blake led the team with 19 points and a season-high 12 rebounds to record her third double-double of the season. Papich finished with seven rebounds and 14 points, reaching double digits for the sixth game this season. Papich and Blake added two blocks each.
No. 3 Emporia State 68, Northwest Missouri 64
The No. 3 Lady Hornets won their 20th MIAA opener in 23 conference seasons with a 68-64 victory at Northwest Missouri on Saturday night.
Emporia State led 36-25 at the half and built an 18 point lead with 11:39 left in the game. A Merissa Quick bucket gave the Lady Hornets a 65-50 lead with 4:41 left, but it would be the last field goal for Emporia State. The Bearcats went on an 11-0 run that was finally broken when Haley Parker hit the second of two free throws with 12.5 seconds left to give Emporia State a 66-61 lead. Ashleigh Nelson hit three free throws with 1.2 seconds left to close the gap to 66-64 but Parker hit a pair of free throws after being fouled on the inbounds play for the final margin.
Kelly Moten led the Lady Hornets with a career high 13 points and was joined in double figures by Desiree Wylie and Laura Patrick with 10 points each. Quick had nine rebounds and three blocks for the Lady Hornets.
No. 5 Colorado Mesa 81, Black Hills State 52
GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. -- Fifth-ranked Colorado Mesa limited the visiting Black Hills State Yellowjackets to just 35.7 percent shooting from the floor and three made 3-point baskets on their way to an 81-52 win on Saturday night in Brownson Arena.
The Mavericks led by as many as 35 points in the contest and finished shooting 50 percent from the field, including 50 percent (10-of-20) from behind the 3-point arc.
The Yellowjackets cut the lead to 15 with 15 minutes left in the game but then extended it to 35 with just under four minutes to play.
No one in the gym shot it better than Taylor Rock who poured in a career-high 20 points including 6-of-7 from behind the three-point line. Rock also finished with five rebounds and three assists.
Alaska-Anchorage 77, No. 6 Seattle Pacific 65
ANCHORAGE – Until the final minutes, Seattle Pacific was never out of Great Northwest Athletic Conference basketball game against Alaska Anchorage.
The Falcons just never could get all the way back into it.
Katie Benson had 26 points and 12 rebounds for her fourth double-double of the year, but Alaska Anchorage led the Great Northwest Athletic Conference contest from wire to wire in handing the No. 6-ranked Falcons their first loss of the year 77-65.
SPU (7-1, 1-1 GNAC) had been off to its best start since the 2007-08 season by winning its first seven games of the season.
No. 10 Augustana (S.D.) 76, Sioux Falls 70
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – In a highly anticipated matchup, No. 10 Augustana would withstand a late rally by rival Sioux Falls to take home a 76-70 road victory on Saturday in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference play. The Vikings' record improved to 6-1 (2-1 NSIC) on the season with the win. The Cougars fell to 5-2 (1-2 NSIC) with the loss.
The Vikings' Emily Schulte set the tone for Augustana on Saturday, both offensively and defensively, bringing a swarming defensive mentality that caused mayhem to Cougars backcourt players on one end of the court, and displaying her sharpshooting skills on the other end. Schulte was part af a Viking defense that forced 23 turnovers, while finishing with a game-high 20 points on 8-of-16 shooting. The Sioux Falls, S.D., native also grabbed four rebounds and had four steals.
