University of North Florida
USC Aiken
UNF women fall to USC Aiken, 55-48, in Peach Belt matchup
2/20/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (Feb. 19, 2005) - USC Aiken's Kasey Mills scored 19 points, hitting 9-of-10 free throw attempts in the final 1:49, to lead USC Aiken past North Florida 55-48 in Peach Belt Conference women's basketball on Saturday afternoon.
UNF (10-15, 4-10 PBC) made a late charge, cutting a seven-point halftime deficit to under five points twice, but the Lady Ospreys couldn't find an answer for Mills or a cold day shooting in snapping to a two-game winning streak at UNF Arena. UNF shot 32 percent for the game and hit just 2-of-14 shots from beyond the 3-point arc.
USC Aiken (18-10, 8-6 PBC) shot just 39 percent for the game and committed 21 turnovers, but the Lady Pacers hit 13-of-15 free throws in the second half to help seal the win.
"I told our team after the game that I just don't have any answers," UNF head coach Mary Tappmeyer said. "We played hard in spurts and gave ourselves a chance but then made mistakes in critical times to take ourselves back out of the game. We just have to get better offensively."
Brittney Davis led UNF with 15 points, while Tamara Hubbard added 13 points off the bench for the Lady Ospreys.
UNF never led in the game but looked good early, hanging tough with the Lady Pacers before going cold from the floor. USC Aiken stretched a 15-13 lead to 24-14 with a 9-1 run over a three-minute span late in the first half to take a commanding lead. UNF's Sara Wallace sank a 3- pointer as the first half expired cut that margin to 24- 17 at the intermission.
The Lady Ospreys shot just 25 percent over the first 20 minutes, missing their first eight 3-point attempts before Wallace delivered at the buzzer.
In the second half, UNF battled back to within 24-23 out of the gates but couldn't keep up with the Lady Pacers from there. USCA pushed its lead out to nine points on three occasions. Back-to-back layups by Kim Smith and Brittney Davis brought the Lady Ospreys to within 38-34 with six minutes to play, but UNF could never get closer.
The Lady Ospreys will return to action on Wednesday night in their final home game of the season. UNF will play Armstrong Atlantic State on Senior Night at UNF Arena as part of a men's-women's doubleheader. Tipoff for the women's game is set for 5:30 p.m. Both games will be carried locally on WIOJ-AM 1010 and via the World Wide Web at www.unf.edu/sports.
