UNF downed in home opener

Thursday, November 15

Jacksonville, Fla.

7:00 PM

University of North Florida

UCF

Jennifer Bowen scored all 13 of her points in the first half.

11/15/2007 10:17:09 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (Nov. 15, 2007) – The University of North Florida women's basketball team lost a six-point lead at the half and only scored 20 points in the second frame of a 57-47 loss to UCF at UNF Arena.

The Lady Ospreys (0-2) hit only eight of 33 shots in the second half and shot 31.6 percent from the field for the game. UCF also owned the boards, outrebounding the Lady Ospreys 50-34.

“I am disappointed in the fact that we missed so many easy shots from point-blank range,” UNF head coach Mary Tappmeyer said. “This was a battle of a couple of young teams and they were hungrier than we were.”

UNF's Jennifer Bowen scored 13 points to lead the Lady Ospreys, with all 13 of those points coming in the opening half. Jennifer Guldager followed her with 12 points, while Antoinette Reames had four blocks. UNF had nine blocks as a team, finishing one off of its team record.

Tia Lewis and Emma Cannon each notched double-doubles for the Knights. Lewis finished with a game high 22 points to go along with 14 rebounds, while Cannon had 10 points and 15 boards.

Lewis capped off a 12-0 run in the second half for the Knights that helped seal the victory. UNF's Juliemay Syquio hit a jumper with 12:48 to play in the game and the Lady Ospreys failed to score another point until Shandrea Moore hit a driving layup with 5:10 to play.

UCF (1-2) held the Lady Ospreys at bay from there to earn their first victory of the season.

Bowen led the Lady Ospreys on the boards with eight rebounds, while Guldager followed her with seven. Moore led all players with six assists.

UNF forced the Knights into 23 turnovers, while turning the ball over 20 times. The Lady Ospreys managed to take better care of the ball in the second half after 13 first half turnovers.

The two teams played to a defensive stalemate in the opening half, with the Lady Ospreys grabbing a 10-9 lead at the 9:09 mark on a Bowen 3-pointer. UCF countered from there with an 11-7 run, before UNF eventually took a 27-21 advantage into the locker room after Guldager Followed up a Brittany Jones miss with a layup just before the first-half buzzer sounded.

The Lady Ospreys are back in action on Tuesday night against Bethune-Cookman in a 6 p.m. contest at UNF Arena. Fans who cannot make the game can check out live coverage or watch it on-demand at ASUN.TV.