University of North Florida
NEW JERSEY TECH
UNF takes out NJIT, 52-46
11/17/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Nov. 17, 2006
FARMVILLE, Va. - The University of North Florida women's basketball team wasn't firing on all cylinders on Friday night when it squared off with New Jersey Tech in the opening round of Longwood University's Lancer Invitational.
The youthful Lady Ospreys were firing just enough at the end, however, to pull out their first victory of the season.
Fueled by strong defense and timely free- throw shooting down the stretch, the Lady Ospreys posted a 52-46 win over NJIT to improve their season record to 1-1. Senior Tamara Hubbard led UNF with 12 points, while Jennifer Bowen added nine points and Sabrina Schmitt eight.
Antoinette Reames also added five points and five blocks in the victory.
UNF shot 42 percent for the game, but hit just 1 of 7 shots from 3-point range and only 13 of 23 free-throw attempts. The Lady Ospreys delivered in the clutch - getting a critical rebound and four straight free throws from Bowen in the final 11 seconds to seal the hard-fought win.
"We're just telling our kids to win as many games as we can ugly in November and December," UNF head coach Mary Tappmeyer said. "As a young team, we are going to have a lot of close games. We want to win the close, tough, ugly ones now in November and December and be fine-tuned by the time we get to January and February. It was a win, and we'll take as many of those as we can get."
New Jersey Tech (0-2) shot 33 percent for the game, hit 4 of 13 shots from 3-point range (31 percent) and outrebounded UNF, 38-34, but could never grab a second-half lead. Kelly Crowe scored 15 points to lead the Raiders, while Katie Piekielski added 14.
Both teams started slowly, managing only a 6-6 tie 11 minutes into the game. Schmitt and Hubbard each scored a pair of baskets over the next five minutes, however, to fuel a 12-3 UNF run and put the Lady Ospreys up 20-13 with 2:44 to play before halftime.
NJIT sliced into that margin just before the intermission, but the Lady Ospreys still led 22-19 at the break.
"I thought Sabrina came in and gave us a huge boost off the bench in the first half," Tappmeyer said. "She got four quick steals and got us jump-started offensively. They are a tough team to play against because they run the Princeton-style offense. I thought we got better down the stretch."
In the second half, the teams battled back and forth - with NJIT slicing its deficit to a single point three times in the first six minutes - before UNF muscled up and pulled away with timely 5-0 and 6-0 runs. NJIT kept battling, however, and a pair of Crowe free throws cut UNF's lead to just 43-41 with 1:32 remaining. From there, the Lady Ospreys hit five of their final six free throw attempts to seal the victory.
The Lady Ospreys will now face tournament host Longwood on Saturday in the championship game, which is scheduled for 4 p.m.
