University of North Florida
STETSON
Stetson wins battle of career highs
3/2/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
March 2, 2006
DELAND, Fla. - University of North Florida reserve guard Anna Haberlein scored a career high 17 points, but it wasn't enough to counter Stetson's Nefertiti Walker, who scored a career high 35 points of her own in a 66-60 Lady Hatters win over UNF on Thursday in DeLand, Fla.
Walker scored 26 of her points in the second half and helped Stetson bounce back from a one-point deficit at the half to win its fifth-straight game at home.
"Anna played well tonight and Jennifer Guldager really battled underneath the boards for us," UNF head coach Mary Tappmeyer said. "Nefertiti was a one-man wrecking crew tonight for Stetson. We knew we needed to guard her better and just didn't find her quick enough."
After Stetson (9-17, 7-12 A-Sun) took a 2-0 lead to start the game with a Janene Maclin jumper, UNF (11-16, 9-10 A-Sun) answered with a Guldager jumper to tie the game. The Lady Ospreys grabbed their first lead with a jumper by Jackie Beik at 18:08 after a Hatter turnover. Once Walker forced the second tie of the game 4-4 at 16:55 with two made free throws, UNF took control at the other end of the court in its next possession with another Guldager basket.
The Lady Ospreys managed to hold on for the remainder of the half, but never pulled away more than five points. With UNF ahead by five with just more than two minutes left on the clock, Stetson scored back-to-back layups to cut the deficit to one point at the break.
UNF's Kayla Sheldon opened the half with a three-pointer to extend the Lady Ospreys' lead to four points, before Stetson fought back with a layup and a 3-pointer by Walker to take the lead 33-32 at 17:40. Beik sank a jumper to give the Lady Ospreys their final lead, before the Hatters scored 10 unanswered points to pull away by nine at 13:24.
Stetson managed to hold on despite a last-minute effort by UNF that brought it within two points with 27 seconds left in the game. Six free throws in the final seconds of play helped the Hatters to the six-point victory.
Walker's 35 points ties for third all-time at Stetson in points scored in a single game. The senior was a perfect 11-for-11 from the free throw for another career high and scored 26 of the Hatters' 38 second-half points.
Beik helped out the Lady Ospreys' scoring cause with 13 points, scoring nine of those in the first half of play. Jennifer Bowen also had eight points off the bench for UNF.
UNF will close out its inaugural season in the NCAA Division I ranks on Saturday when it travels to Mercer for a 2 p.m. contest.
