University of North Florida
USC Upstate
UNF women open PBC Tournament with 59-57 win over USC Upstate
3/1/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
AUGUSTA, Ga. (March 1, 2005) - The University of North Florida women's basketball team held off a late second-half run to knock off USC Upstate 59-57 in the first round of the Peach Belt Conference Women's Basketball Tournament Tuesday at the Christenberry Fieldhouse.
UNF, the No. 5 seed from the PBC South Division, advances to Thursday's quarterfinal round to take on Clayton State at 3 p.m.
Brittney Davis led UNF with 11 points, while Kim Smith added 10 points. USC Upstate placed four players in double figures, led by Shannon Pallardy with 12.
Both teams torched the nets in the first half as USC Upstate (14-14) shot 48 percent from the floor and hit 8-of-11 free throws, but North Florida (13-15) shot 52 percent and hit 6-of-7 foul shots to take a 36-30 lead into the locker room at halftime.
The Lady Ospreys appeared poised to pull away in the second half as as Karli Knudsen hit a 3-pointer with 11:30 remaining to give UNF a 51-40 lead. After the Lady Spartans cut the deficit down to six points a few minutes later, UNF responded with another 6-0 run to build a 59-47 advantage with 4:30 remaining.
The Lady Spartans wouldn't go down without a fight and held the Lady Ospreys scoreless for the rest of the game, using a 10-0 run to get within two points at 59-57 on Vania Redd's three pointer with 2:25 remaining.
UNF turned the ball over with 15.4 seconds to play, giving the Lady Spartans one last try to tie or take the lead, but a jumper by Keoshia Worthy came up short and went out of bounds with 1.3 seconds remaining. USC Upstate immediately fouled, sending Knudsen to the free throw line. She missed the front end of the one-and-one foul shot, but the Lady Ospreys grabbed the rebound and the two point victory.
"We came out nervous in the first and then we got our legs under us and calmed down," UNF head coach Mary Tappmeyer said. "We got some easy shots early in the second half and just got too comfortable with an 11-point lead.
"I thought we played too tentative down the stretch. Instead of playing to win, we played not to lose."
