First-half hole too much for Lady Ospreys

Saturday, January 10

Jacksonville, Fla.

2 p.m.

University of North Florida

Mercer University

Freshman Kayla Mobley registered her second double-doule of the season

1/10/2009 5:31:00 PM | Women's Basketball

UNF shot .118 percent in the first half and scored 11 points

By: Adam Jonson, UNF Athletics

Box Score

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Despite freshman Kayla Mobley's second double-double of the season, the University of North Florida women's basketball team could not overcome a hefty first-half deficit and fell, 70-44, to Mercer in Atlantic Sun Conference action Saturday afternoon at UNF Arena.

UNF (2-13, 1-5 A-Sun) found itself in a double-digit hole less than five minutes into the contest with Mercer (7-7, 3-2) grasping a 14-2 lead at the 15:11 mark. After Mobley knocked down a shot in the paint and sophomore Brittany Jones made a layup with 13:58 remaining in the first half, the Lady Ospreys went cold and were held without a field goal for almost 12 minutes.

Junior Arlande Cherizol flushed a pair of free-throws for UNF's only points during the stretch before Jones notched one free throw to wrap up the Lady Ospreys' first-half scoring. The Bears led by as many as 28 in the opening half, but UNF's defense kept Mercer without a field goal in the final three minutes and 47 seconds of the first frame, sending the game to the half with the Bears leading, 36-11.

Mobley provided a spark for the Lady Ospreys immediately after the opening whistle for the second half, scoring the first four points of the second frame. She netted nine after halftime (11 in the game) to keep her team stride-for-stride with the visitors in the second half, and grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds to help UNF outrebound its opponent, 36-33.

The Lady Ospreys totaled 21 offensive rebounds in the contest, including 17 in the first half. However, those 21 boards on the offensive glass equated to only eight second-chance points. Mobley and Cherizol each had four offensive boards. Cherizol finished with seven total rebounds.

Four players registered double-digit point totals for the Bears, led by Dominique Chism's 16 points. LaToya Jackson added 12 while Cristin Seymour and Nicole Leonard chipped in 12 and 11, respectively. Seymor also had a team-best eight rebounds while Chism snatched a game-high six steals.

After shooting a single-half season-low .118 percent in the first half, UNF drained .458 percent of its attempts from the field in the second half. Mercer caught fire in the first half, connecting on .636 percent of its tries and shot .524 percent after halftime. The Bears hit .583 percent of their 3-point attempts (6-for-8 in the first half).

Refusing to go away quietly, the Lady Ospreys battled until the final buzzer to cut into Mercer's biggest lead of the game. The Bears led by 33 (60-27) with a little more than five minutes remaining when junior Willonda Windham rattled off six points in less than a minute and a half to give her team a breath of fresh air.

UNF outscored the Bears 13-6 in the final four minutes and 38 seconds, and forced five turnovers in that stint. The Lady Ospreys committed 19 turnovers on the day while causing 25 Mercer turnovers. Sophomore Juliemay Syquio finished with four steals while freshman Kim Baker had three and Mobley and senior Jennifer Bowen each added two.

In a career-high 28 minutes of action, Mobley went 4-for-7 from the floor and 3-of-5 from the charity stripe. Windham hit three of her four attempts from the field and Jones fired true on her only shot.

The win marked the first time Mercer has ever won at UNF Arena in four tries. The Lady Ospreys hold a 3-1 advantage over the Bears all-time at home and lead the overall series, 5-2.

Jacksonville will visit UNF Arena on Thursday, Jan. 15, at 5:30 p.m. for the first installment of the hardwood portion of the SunTrust River City Rumble. The matchup will be part of a doubleheader, which features Osprey and Dolphin men's basketball action at 7:45 p.m.