University of North Florida
Shaw
UNF Takes on Shaw in Regional Showdown
2/14/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (Dec. 12, 2004) - The University of North Florida women's basketball team will leave the state for the first time Monday night when it travels to Raleigh, N.C., to take on Shaw at 7 p.m.
UNF (5-1) will face a big regional test against a Shaw (3-0) squad that has been the top-seeded team in the last two South Atlantic Regional tournaments. The Lady Bears are off to a good start once again this season, capturing two regional wins in their last three outings.
"Shaw is very athletic, and they don't lose often, especially at home," UNF head coach Mary Tappmeyer said. "We will face a very aggressive team that loves to run."
UNF - which has been off most of the week for finals - is looking to recover from its first loss of the season after it fell to Rollins on the road Dec. 4.
"Hopefully the poor shooting night against Rollins was an aberration," Tappmeyer said. "We generally shoot the ball well."
UNF has also been solid defensively this season, holding opponents to 47.7 points a game. The Lady Ospreys will need to rely on that defense to help slow down a Shaw offense that is averaging 92 points a game this season. A lot of that damage is coming beyond the 3-point arc, where the Lady Bears are hitting 40 percent of their 3-point attempts.
The Lady Ospreys will get Kim Smith back in the lineup this week after Smith, UNF's leading scorer, missed her last game due to an injury.
UNF is 2-0 all-time against Shaw, capturing the biggest win in team history in the teams' last meeting. The Lady Ospreys captured a 71-58 victory in that game, winning the 2003 South Atlantic Regional in the process.
Coverage of the Shaw game can be heard on the web at www.unf.edu/sports and locally in Jacksonville on 1010-AM WIOJ.
