University of North Florida
FLA INST TECH
UNF's 21-Game Home Winning Streak Snapped
2/14/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (Dec. 30, 2004) - The University of North Florida women's basketball team had its 21-game home court winning streak snapped Thursday, falling to Florida Tech 50-49 in the opening round of the Lady Osprey New Year's Classic.
Danielle Quinn hit a pair of free throws with eight seconds left on the clock to give FIT the win and snap its three-game losing streak to UNF.
"Nobody will win all of their games at home," UNF head coach Mary Tappmeyer said. "We need to learn to take better care of the ball under pressure."
Tappmeyer said a factor in the Lady Ospreys turning the ball over four times in the last 1:40 of the game was the absence of point guard Kayla Sheldon, who will be out of the lineup for a couple of weeks after undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery. Ericia Hatcher filled in for Sheldon at the point, committing three of the team's 28 turnovers and scoring seven points.
UNF led most of the second half after a back-and-forth first half of action. Danise Faquiere cut the advantage to 49-48 before Hatcher turned the ball over with 32 seconds remaining. Hatcher and Brittney Davis did their best to try to prevent that turnover from costing the Lady Ospreys, as Hatcher clamped down on Panthers' leading scorer Jennifer Tamilio, preventing a look at the basket in the final seconds of play, while Davis blocked a Tamilio shot in the lane.
FIT called a timeout in the midst of a scramble for the ball and set up a play for Quinn underneath the basket. Quinn wasn't able to make the shot the fall, but went to the line after drawing a Jackie Beik foul. She hit both of her free throws and Beik missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer to end the game.
"Our inexperience of being in pressure situations really showed," Tappmeyer said. "They exposed our weakness."
Tamilio and Faquiere led all players with 14 points, while Beik set the mark for UNF with 12.
Both teams came out of the gates firing, but the pace slowed quickly as the first half moved on. Beik knotted the game at 21 with a 3-pointer from the top of the key before Hatcher hit a free throw with 20 seconds remaining to put UNF up 22-21 at the half.
UNF began the second half on a 9-0 run to extend its advantage to 10, the largest it would get. FIT was able to chip away from there when Davis and Kim Smith found themselves in foul trouble. A Tamilio 3-pointer cut the UNF lead to 43-41 before Hatcher drove the basket and dished a ball to Davis for a bucket and a 49-45 UNF lead. FIT, however, closed the game on a 5-0 run to take home the victory.
The Lady Ospreys won the rebounding battle, pulling down 27 boards compared to the Panthers' 24. Beik and Davis each had five rebounds for UNF, while Shayla Fisher led FIT with six.
Play continues Friday at the Lady Osprey New Year's Classic with FIT and Edward Waters kicking off action at 1 p.m., followed by UNF and Rollins at 3 p.m.
Fans who cannot make it to this weekend's tournament can listen to live action of the Lady Ospreys at www.unf.edu/sports.
