Dolphins rumble past Lady Ospreys

Thursday, January 15

Jacksonville, Fla.

5:30 p.m.

University of North Florida

Jacksonville University

Junior Arlande Cherizol had five offensive rebounds and played 32 minutes

1/15/2009 9:43:00 PM | Women's Basketball

UNF shot 16-58 from the field and 10-20 from the free-throw line

By: Adam Jonson, UNF Athletics

Box Score

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Freshman Brittany Kirkland's 14 points weren't enough for the University of North Florida women's basketball team Thursday night when Jacksonville used 34 points off the bench to take a 61-42 win and a point in the SunTrust River City Rumble at UNF Arena in Atlantic Sun Conference action.

"They pulled away in the second half, which happened when we got away from our gameplan," UNF head coach Mary Tappmeyer said. "Because we became frustrated by not being able to score on the offensive end, we did not execute on the defensive end."

UNF (2-14, 1-6 A-Sun) trailed by only seven points – 26-19 – at the half after shooting .281 percent from the field compared to .407 percent by JU (9-7, 5-2). The Lady Ospreys pulled to within five at the 14:21 mark of the second half, but the Dolphins caught fire only a few minutes later and stifled the UNF offense.

With a little more than nine minutes remaining, the visitors started a 12-0 run to build their biggest lead of the game – 53-30 – with a little less than six minutes to play. During the three-and-a-half-minute stretch, the Lady Ospreys committed three turnovers and went 0-for-6 from the field.

Down the stretch, the Lady Ospreys continued to battle, reducing the Dolphin lead to 16 three times in the final four minutes. UNF grabbed seven offensive rebounds in the final five minutes of the contest and scored eight of its 22 second-chance points in that stint.

"We've been getting 19 or 20 offensive rebounds in our last few games and only scoring two or four second-chance points," Tappmeyer said. "Tonight was a step in the right direction on the offensive glass and putbacks. I've been telling this young team that on a lot of nights, our best offense will be our rebounding. We must be committed to going to the boards when we struggle shooting the ball."

The Lady Ospreys finished 16-for-58 from the field (.276 percent), including a 0-for-5 mark from beyond the three-point line, and connected on only half of their attempts from the free-throw line (10-for-20). Kirkland's 14 points came on a 7-for-17 shooting performance, and she added four rebounds and two steals.

On the defensive end, UNF limited JU's starting five to just 27 points, 12 of which were scored by Courtney Jackson. Lyndsey Paschal led the attack off the bench for the Dolphins, netting 16 on a perfect 5-for-5 performance from the field and near perfect 6-for-7 mark at the free throw line. Virginia Gregoire contributed 10 points and three assists off the JU bench.

Senior Jennifer Guldager grabbed a game-high nine rebounds to help UNF win the rebounding battle, 42-36, and fired true on her only attempt from the field. Junior Arlande Cherizol nabbed seven rebounds (second-best in the game), including five on the offensive end. Sophomore Juliemay Syquio scored a season-high eight points and made three steals.

With the three-game homestand over, UNF hits the road, destined for Buies Creek, N.C., and a matchup against Campbell at 5:45 p.m. on Monday night.