Lady Ospreys overpowered by USF

Sunday, December 14

Tampa, Fla.

3 p.m.

University of North Florida

University of South Florida

Sophomore Brittany Jones made her first start of the season

12/14/2008 7:20:00 PM | Women's Basketball

The Bulls forced 39 UNF turnovers and committed only 13

By: Adam Jonson, UNF Athletics

Box Score

TAMPA, Fla. – An early lead by the University of North Florida women's basketball team in its matchup with South Florida on Sunday was reversed by the Bulls' full-court-pressure defense and points scored off turnovers, and the Lady Ospreys were sent away by the nation's second-highest scoring offense, 90-44.

UNF (2-5, 1-1 Atlantic Sun), led by a layup and a jumper by freshman Brittany Kirkland, looked strong in the early going and jumped out to a 9-4 lead. USF (8-1), down 11-8, then tightened its full-court press and slowed down the Lady Osprey offense, forcing 23 first-half turnovers.

"They wore us out," UNF head coach Mary Tappmeyer said. "That is what their team is built to do. They made us fight to get up the floor every possession and that really tired us quickly."

The upped defensive energy by the Bulls held the Lady Ospreys scoreless for a little more than six and a half minutes and allowed USF to run to a 13-point lead with 8:17 on the clock, which was only seven minutes and 16 seconds after the Lady Ospreys had boasted a five-point edge.

Two buckets by senior Jennifer Guldager cut the USF lead to nine points before Jazmine Sepulveda's 3-pointer pushed the Bulls' lead back to double digits. Sepulveda added another jumper from beyond the arc in an eight-point run that gave the Bulls a 17-point advantage at the 6:20 mark of the first half.

After trailing 41-22 at the half, UNF opened the second half in strong fashion, using three baskets by junior Arlande Cherizol to reduce the USF lead to 17 through four minutes of play after the break. However, the Bulls again used their defensive presence to fuel their offensive attack.

USF forced 16 turnovers in the second half and found its stroke from long range, shooting 50 percent from behind the arc (4-for8) in the second half after connecting on just 20 percent of its deep attempts in the first half (3-for-15). The Bulls, who lead the nation in turnover margin, committed only 13 turnovers in the contest.

Both Lady Osprey seniors, Guldager and Jennifer Bowen, played major roles in helping UNF win the rebounding battle, 42-33. Guldager finished with seven boards while Bowen grabbed a game-high nine and scored a team-best 11 points. Freshman Kayla Mobley joined Bowen atop the rebounding column, also nabbing nine.

"I was really proud of our effort on the glass tonight," Tappmeyer said. "They were bigger, stronger and more athletic, but we did a great job of getting position. Rebounding was one of the things we set as a focus, and that is one positive step we saw in our performance tonight."

Five Bulls scored in double figures, led by Sepulveda's 16 points. Jessica Lawson chipped in 13 points while Brittany Denson and Shantia Grace each added 12 and Janae Stokes went for 11. Denson also pulled down eight rebounds.

Cherizol finished with eight points and six rebounds and Kirkland had six points and three boards. Junior Willonda Windham and sophomores Juliemay Syquio and Brittany Jones each contributed four points. Jones sank two free throws to put UNF on the scoreboard for the first time a little more than a minute into the game. Her attempts from the charity stripe were the only two the Lady Ospreys managed.

The Bulls notched 40 points off Lady Osprey turnovers and got 33 points off the bench. The home team went 13-for-19 from the free-throw line. UNF was tagged with 19 fouls while USF was called for just eight.

The Lady Ospreys will look to push their home-court record back above the even mark when they host the second-running of the Lady Osprey Holiday Classic. UNF, which is 2-2 at UNF Arena this season, faces Longwood on Wednesday at 7 p.m. and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Thursday at 7 p.m. Jacksonville State will also participate in the two-day tournament, which also features games at 5 p.m. each night.