No. 10 Sharks hold off Golden Bears

Senior guard Amanda Burakoski had a career-high 27 points and 11 rebounds off the bench as No. 10 Nova Southeastern held off unranked Concordia-St. Paul
72-64 in the NCAA Division II women’s basketball quarterfinals on Wednesday in Erie, Pa.
Concordia trailed for most of the contest before tying the game at 43-all midway through the second half on a pair of free throws from Ashland native Anika Whiting, who had 14 points, seven rebounds and two blocked shots.
 Outside of Burakoski, Nova Southeastern shot just 20 percent from the field, but the difference was rebounding. The Sharks held a 60-42 advantage on the glass, including 22 offensive rebounds, to hold off the Golden Bears.
For Concordia (28-9), it was an improbable postseason run that included four straight top 10 opponents and five straight ranked in the top 20. Whiting finished with a school-record 655 points this season for the Golden Bears, who ended Minnesota Duluth’s season with an 81-72 victory in the first round of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference tournament on Feb. 26 in
St. Paul. The Golden Bears tied a program record for wins.
Nova Southeastern (29-4) advances to play No. 5 West Texas A&M (31-2) in the national semifinals at 5 p.m. today in Erie.