Back from injury, Skyla Osceola set to lead the Nova Southeastern Universty women’s team
Somewhere during Christen Prasse’s barrage of three-pointers last March, Skyla Osceola couldn’t contain herself any longer.
Osceola, a 5-8 point guard for Nova Southeastern University, sat out last season after surgery on her left foot. But while watching her Sharks teammates reach the Elite Eight round of the NCAA Division II womens’ basketball tournament, Osceola … um … goofed.
More than once.
“I was getting yelled by our athletic trainer [Jessie Bollback] to stop jumping off the bench,” Osceola said. “She was worried about my foot, but I was just so excited.”
Who could blame her?
The unranked Sharks won three straight playoff games in exciting fashion. First, they upset 13th-ranked Union 71-66.
Then, the Sharks beat West Florida 87-78 as Prasse set an NSU record with 39 points. She made 13-of-16 shots from the floor, including an incredible 9-of-10 on three-pointers. Her nine three-pointers tied an NCAA Tournament record.
After that, NSU’s Alison Hughes scored 30 points in an 84-63 win over 17th-ranked and host Florida Southern.
NSU’s season ended with a 91-60 loss to unbeaten and top-ranked Drury.
But the Sharks, who finished their season with a 21-12 record, still had a wildly successful season, making the Elite Eight for the fourth time in the past seven seasons under coach LeAnn Freeland-Curry.
The Sharks graduated five seniors off that team — Prasse, Hughes, Mikayla Thompson, Megan Piggott and Katie Barnard. All five of them started multiple games last season, including Hughes (33 starts, 14.3 scoring average); Prasse (25 starts, 12.7 average) and Thompson (32 starts, 5.9 average).
However, Freeland-Curry feels good about her team attempting to make the NCAA Tournament for the eighth time in the past nine years, and some of that has to do with Osceola.
A Native American and a member of the Seminole tribe, Osceola — the third of seven children — grew up in a basketball family. Her older sister (Ariah) won a state title at Hollywood Christian, and her older brother (Hunter) won one, too, at American Heritage.
Their backyard games would often result in bruises, scrapes and tears.
“Hunter would make me cry, but then I would say, ‘Let’s go again’,” Osceola said. “The games with Ariah got so physical that our parents didn’t let us play anymore. My brother and sister put me through hell, but it made me mentally tough.”
And while Ariah and Hunter didn’t play college ball, Skyla Osceola has, starring as an NSU freshman in 2017-2018, playing all 27 games, including 20 starts, and leading the team with 90 assists.
She also made 40.8 percent on three-pointers, and her 3.33 assists-to-turnover ratio ranked second in the nation.
Then, in November of 2018, she went up for a jumper in practice and came down with torn plantar fascia in her left foot.
“It sounded like firework went off,” Osceola said. “I was devastated.”
Freeland-Curry consoled Osceola, who now sees the bright side. By redshirting last season, she can eventually earn her Master’s degree in exercise and sports science.
For now, Osceola and Esabelle Levine, a 5-3 redshirt junior from Minnesota, are battling for the point guard job in practice, although they can also play in the same backcourt. Levine missed all but two games last season due to a knee injury.
Freeland-Curry said Osceola is “more natural running the point because she looks to distribute first, even though she has the best shot on the team.”
Osceola said her pass-first tendencies began at American Heritage, where one of the players she ran with was Raigyne Moncrief, who went on to become the only player in LSU history with at least 1,600 points, 700 rebounds, 300 assists and 250 steals.
The legacy Osceola builds in her remaining three years at NSU remains to be seen, but she would love to emulate Shoni Schimmel, a Native American who became a star at the University of Louisville and a 2014 first-round pick in the WNBA.
“She was inspiring,” Osceola said. “Not a lot of Native Americans make it out. But she showed all Native Americans that, ‘Yea, we’re able to do this, too. You just have to have dedication.’”
Other local schools at a glance
NCAA DIVISION I
▪ FIU — Coach: Tiara Malcolm; Last season: 5-24, 2-14 Conference USA; Top players: Chelsea Guimaraes (6-3 sr. C); Kylee O’Hara (6-0 so. F); Paula Orenes (5-8 sr. G); Noteworthy: The Panthers do not play any “power five” conference teams this year. Their 11-game non-conference schedule features eight home dates.
NCAA DIVISION II
▪ Barry University — Coach: Bill Sullivan; Last season: 10-19, lost in Sunshine State Conference quarterfinals; Top players: Nichel Tampa (5-5 jr. G); Harriet Swindells (5-9 jr. G); Ashleigh Pink (5-9 so. G). Noteworthy: Tampa, a transfer from Western Kentucky, made the conference’s All-Newcomer team last season, scoring a team-high 14.6 points per game. The Bucs have no seniors on their roster but have two players each from Australia and England and one from Sweden, Denmark, Italy, Spain, New Zealand and Norway.
▪ Nova Southeastern University — Coach: LeAnn Freeland-Curry; Last season: 21-12, advanced to the NCAA Elite Eight for the fourth time in seven years; Top players: Jordan Tully (6-2 sr. F); Maria Bardeeva (6-2 sr. F); Claire McMahon (6-1 jr. G); Noteworthy: McMahon made the Sunshine State Conference All-Newcomer team. The Sharks return 10 players and added three recruits, including two Division I transfers.
NAIA
▪ Florida Memorial — Coach: Gregory Stanback; Last season: 18-13, lost in the semifinals of the league tournament; Top players: Ibis Lane (6-4 sr. F); Airneisha Gamble (5-4 jr. PG); Danielle Bailey (5-6 sr. SG); Noteworthy: Lane, a transfer from Texas Southern, protects the rim and is also an athletic scorer. Gamble, a junior-college transfer, is a stellar ball-handler. Bailey, a fourth-year starter, is a deep shooter.
▪ Johnson & Wales — Coach: Kymberly Hope; Last season: 9-17, 6-12 Sun Conference; Top players: Tianna Ayulo (5-9 jr. F); Jordan McDuffie (5-9 so. F); Alexis McClain (6-0 jr. F); Noteworthy: The Wildcats, who have eight newcomers, also return three of their top four scorers. Ayulo averaged 20.6 points and 8.6 rebounds, making first-team all-league. McClain averaged 11.0 points and 7.7 rebounds.
▪ St. Thomas — Coach: Candace Walker; Last season: 21-10, 13-5; lost in the first round of the NAIA national tournament; Top players: Keiana Brooks (5-7 sr. G); Gianni Domond (5-11 so. F); Anari Dozier (5-8, so. G); Noteworthy: In two years under Walker, the Bobcats have made the national tournament both times, with a 42-20 overall record.
JUNIOR COLLEGES
▪ ASA Miami — Coach: Kevin Johnson; Last season: 8-17, 2-8 Southern Conference; Top player: Rabiyah Bell (5-10 so. G); Noteworthy: Team graduated all but one player from last season’s roster.
▪ Broward College — Coach: Brian McCormick; Last season: 22-8, lost in Region VIII quarterfinals; Top players: Nateria Freeman (6-1 so. F); Simay Naz Oget (5-6 fr. PG); Emilie Baek (5-8 fr. G); Noteworthy: Broward returns no starters and lost standout guard Zahra Daniel to shoulder surgery. Whitney Osideko from Everglades High returns as an Academic All-American.
▪ Miami Dade College — Coach: Susan Summons; Last season: 22-9, lost in the first round of the state tournament; Top player: Daliyah Brown (5-7 so. G); Noteworthy: Brown, as a freshman, averaged 20.2 points and was the Southern Conference Player of the Year as MDC went 11-1 in league play. In league games, she averaged 27 points.