Kennesaw outshoots UNF

Saturday, January 12

Kennesaw, Ga.

3:00 PM

University of North Florida

Kennesaw State

Shandrea Moore scored 11 points, hitting all six of her free throws.

1/12/2008 4:54:25 PM | Women's Basketball

Lady Owls snap UNF's winning streak

Box Score

KENNESAW, Ga. – The road woes for the University of North Florida women's basketball team continued on Saturday in a 69-54 loss to Kennesaw State at KSU Convocation Center.

The Lady Ospreys' (7-8, 2-1 A-Sun) top-ranked defense in the league had no answer for a hot-shooting Kennesaw State (7-7, 2-0 A-Sun) team that hit 45.8 percent of its shots from the floor and snapped UNF's longest winning streak of the season – three games – in the process.

The loss also dropped UNF's road record to 0-5 on the road this season.

Shandrea Moore's 11 points led the Lady Ospreys, while Jennifer Guldager and Shennette Sheffield followed with nine and eight points, respectively. All of Guldager's points came in the opening half, while Sheffield hit 4-of-4 shots in the second half, scoring all of her points in that frame.

Moore hit all six of her free throw attempts.

Britteny Henderson led the Lady Owls with 16 points to go along with six rebounds. She was one of four KSU players in double figures.

The Lady Ospreys had not allowed a team to score 50 points during its three-game winning streak, but Kennesaw State – which came into the game shooting 39 percent from the field on the season – reached the 50-point plateau before the 10-minute mark of the second half.

UNF held an early 6-2 lead thanks to a Moore 3-pointer that Guldager followed up with a 3-point play. Kennesaw, however, re-took the lead at the 15:30 mark of the opening half on a Henderson layup. Those points were part of an 11-0 KSU run that gave the Lady Owls a 13-6 advantage. UNF turned the ball over on six-straight trips during that run before Guldager finally broke the run with a floater from the baseline.

The Lady Ospreys turned the ball over 10 times in the first eight minutes of play and 21 times in the opening half. UNF further hindered itself when starters Shandrea Moore, Shennette Sheffield and Antoinette Reames all went to the bench with two fouls in the opening half.

Ashley Johnson summed up the opening half for Kennesaw State, throwing up a 3-point prayer as the buzzer sounded to end the frame. That prayer was answered – as were a few other wild shots thrown up by the Owls – to give Kennesaw a 36-24 lead at the break.

Johnson led Kennesaw State with eight points in the first half and picked up right where she left off in the second half, beginning the frame with a 3-pointer that gave KSU a 39-24 lead.

The Lady Owls maintained that double-digit advantage throughout the second half, capturing their third-straight win against UNF dating back to last season. UNF was able to pull within 10 points in the final two minutes of play, but didn't have enough clock left to complete a comeback effort.

UNF won the battle of the boards 35-34, while turning the ball over 30 times, compared to 20 turnovers for the Lady Owls. KSU finished the game with 16 steals and used its turnover advantage to shoot 15 more shots than the Lady Ospreys.

The Lady Ospreys shot 43.2 percent from the field, but attempted only three 3-pointers, with Moore hitting the only long-range shot.

UNF completes its road trip through Georgia on Monday night when it heads to Mercer for a 7 p.m. contest. Live coverage of the game can be seen on ASUN.TV.