Bowen beats buzzer in A-Sun opener

Thursday, December 4

Jacksonville, Fla.

5:30 p.m.

University of North Florida

Lipscomb University

Senior Jennifer Bowen drilled the game-winning shot as time expired

12/4/2008 9:22:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Lady Ospreys battle Belmont at 2 p.m. on Saturday

By: Adam Jonson, UNF Athletics

Box Score

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Senior Jennifer Bowen scorched the net as the buzzer rang out in UNF Arena on Thursday night, helping the University of North Florida women's basketball team overcome an eight-point deficit with less than six minutes remaining and giving the Lady Ospreys a 52-51 win in their Atlantic Sun Conference opener against Lipscomb.

"The girls didn't panic down the stretch and pulled out what is a huge win for us," UNF head coach Mary Tappmeyer said. "We knew our scoring options in our final possession, BK (freshman point guard Brittany Kirkland) made the right decision and JB (Bowen) hit the one-dribble jumper that she loves."

UNF (2-3, 1-0 A-Sun) faced a 47-39 disadvantage with 5:36 on the clock in the second half, but evened the score at 47-47 less than three minutes later. After a jumper by Kirkland, freshman Jadhken Kerr flushed back-to-back 3-pointers to knot the score for the fourth time in the contest.

Lipscomb (2-5, 0-1) appeared to have a solid hold on the lead after Jilian Partin knocked down four clutch free throws to give the Lady Bisons a four-point lead with 22 ticks left on the clock. However, Bowen connected on her only make from downtown seven seconds later, and the Lady Ospreys committed a quick foul to put Lipscomb on the line with 11 seconds left.

As the ball rattled out and returned to the floor, junior Willonda Windham fought for the rebound and forced a tie-ball. With the possession arrow in UNF's favor, the Lady Ospreys had less than nine seconds to bring the ball the length of the court and notch the winning basket.

"We put our two shooters in the corners and let the point guard create," Tappmeyer said. "Dub's (Windham) rebound was big; it gave us the opportunity to come down and hit the winning shot."

Kirkland pushed the ball down the floor, split the two defenders who pressured her for the length of the court, and pulled a defender from Bowen, who stood in the right corner on the baseline. Bowen took one dribble toward the basket, elevated, shot and scored. She finished with nine points, all of which came in the second half.

In the first half, the Lady Ospreys built a six-point lead through a little more than 12 minutes of play only to watch Lipscomb erase and it and put together a cushion of its own. Jenna Bartsokas, who led all scorers on Thursday with 16, rallied the Lady Bisons by scoring eight consecutive points to put her team on top, 21-19. After a 3-pointer by Toia McGowan and a layup by Brittany Duerk, Lipscomb led by seven. Sophomore Juliemay Syquio drained a shot from the charity stripe to end the Lady Bison's run of 13 unanswered points. Lipscomb led by as many as eight in the final minutes of the first half, boasting a 28-22 edge at the break.

"We missed some easy shots and hurt our momentum during the late part of the first half," Tappmeyer said. "Our immaturity showed during that stretch and the whole team seemed to be flattened by the shots we missed. Lipscomb was more aggressive and battled to take the lead."

Lipscomb quickly increased its lead to 10 points after the second half opened, but the Lady Ospreys began to creep back and decreased the difference to only two points at the 12:57 mark. The Lady Bisons managed to hang on to the lead for 19 minutes and 59 seconds of the second half, with UNF taking its only lead of the second half on Bowen's last-second game winner.

"Jadhken (Kerr) hit two key shots for us down the stretch to put us back in the game," Tappmeyer said. "We are extremely proud of the way the team handled the pressure in the final minutes and the fight they showed throughout the second half."

Windham tied her career-high of 12 points and grabbed six rebounds to lead the Lady Ospreys in both categories. Her other 12-point performance came in the last meeting between the two teams last season. UNF kept its perfect 6-0 all-time record against Lipscomb with the win.

"We are really proud of the job Dub did on the boards tonight," Tappmeyer said. "We have been on her about being a rebounding presence, and tonight she was exactly that."

Despite being outrebounded, 46-36, the Lady Ospreys allowed only four second-chance points. UNF also scored 20 points off 22 forced turnovers and posted its first positive assist-to-turnover ratio of the season (18 assists and 14 turnovers).

In keeping the importance it has displayed early this season, the UNF bench played a vital role, scoring 28 points, grabbing 22 rebounds and adding eight assists. Syquio had five rebounds and two assists while freshmen Kim Baker and Kayla Mobley notched four points each. Baker contributed three assists and two rebounds while Mobley collected two rebounds as well.

Touting its first winning streak of the season, the Lady Ospreys suit up again on Saturday, continuing conference competition at UNF Arena against Belmont at 2 p.m.