University of North Florida
Florida Atlantic
Owls soar higher than Lady Ospreys
12/1/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Dec. 1, 2005
BOCA RATON, Fla. - The University of North Florida women's basketball team dropped its Atlantic Sun season opener on Thursday night, falling to Florida Atlantic 57-43 at FAU Gym in Boca Raton, Fla.
FAU (1-4) captured its first win on the season and moved to 1-0 in A-Sun play, while the Lady Ospreys (1-4) dropped their fourth in a row and fell to 0-1 in the conference.
Shontavia Williams led the Lady Owls with 15 points, while Cristal Randolph hit three shots beyond the 3-point arc to finish with nine points.
While UNF suffered its first loss as a member of the A-Sun Conference, coach Mary Tappmeyer may have found a couple of freshmen that will be the cornerstones of her program in the future. Antoinette Reames finished the game with eight points, while leading the team with seven rebounds and three blocks. Jennifer Bowen also scored eight for UNF, pulled down four rebounds and finished with four steals.
With the game tied 14-14 late in the first half, FAU went on a 7-0 run and never looked back, leading by as many as 20 in the second half.
The Lady Owls won the rebounding battle 42-39, pulling down 17 offensive rebounds. UNF turned the ball over 28 times compared to 21 turnovers for FAU.
UNF was without the services of senior point guard Kayla Sheldon, who was sidelined with a knee injury. The news only got worse for North Florida on the injury front when starting guard Tamara Hubbard left in the first half with a knee injury. She did not return.
FAU closed the opening half on a 14-3 run to take a 28-17 lead into the locker room. Andrea Dill and Anna Haberlein each had five points for UNF, while Williams led the Lady Owls with eight.
UNF found itself down 14-7 before Haberlein helped spark a 7-0 run that tied the game 14-14. Haberlein scored all five of her first-half points during the run and found an open Andrea Dill in the lane for another basket.
FAU scored the next seven points before Reames broke the run with a couple of free throws.
Williams upped the Lady Owls' lead to 12 points on the first possession of the second half with one of her three 3-pointers. UNF pulled as close as nine points in the second half after Alana Mountfield hit a 3-pointer from the left wing. FAU scored the next 10 points before eventually extending its lead to 18 in the first 10 minutes of the second half.
Dill led all of UNF's starters with seven points, while Haberlein - making her first start in Sheldon's place - pulled down five boards.
UNF will get a two-week break before traveling to South Alabama on Dec. 14. The Lady Ospreys will return home two days later to open its home slate, hosting Bethune-Cookman on Dec. 16 at 7 p.m.
