Kirkland connects for career numbers

Thursday, January 22

DeLand, Fla.

9 p.m.

University of North Florida

Stetson University

Freshman Brittany Kirkland scored 24 points in the 62-52 win

1/23/2009 12:10:00 AM | Women's Basketball

UNF snapped its skid with a 62-52 win against Stetson

By: Adam Jonson, UNF Athletics

Box Score

DELAND, Fla. – Freshman Brittany Kirkland paced the University of North Florida women's basketball team Thursday night against Stetson by scoring a career-high 24 points en route to a 62-52 decision and the Lady Ospreys' second Atlantic Sun Conference win of the season.

"We haven't had many situations where we were able to play with a lead, and doing that tonight was fun," UNF head coach Mary Tappmeyer said. "Shooting the ball well also added energy to the team."

UNF (3-15, 2-7 A-Sun) notched a .397 shooting percentage, including a .542 mark in the second half. Kirkland tallied thirteen points after the break, knocking down six of her nine second-half shot attempts. Playing all 20 minutes of the second frame, Kirkland saw a career-high 39 minutes of action Thursday night.

"Brittany continues to improve each night," Tappmeyer said. "As well as she played on the offensive end, I was more pleased with her defensive presence. She limited Stetson's top player Sharnesha Smith to only 11 points. That was a key for us tonight and Brittany stepped up and bought into the defensive philosophy."

Smith and the Hatters (7-11, 4-5) sank only .208 percent of their shots in the first half against a Lady Osprey defense that limited the home team to just 17 points in the opening half. The occurrence marks the first time this season UNF has held an opponent to less than 20 points in a single half.

The first half of action featured six lead changes and one tie. At the 6:51 mark, Kirkland flushed a jumper that put UNF on top 12-11, and the Lady Ospreys never trailed again. After leading by as many as eight, UNF took a 23-17 lead into the locker room at the half.

Sophomore Juliemay Syquio buried the first basket of the second half before Kirkland nailed a pair of free throws and a jumper to push the Lady Osprey lead into double digits at 30-19 a little less than four minutes into the second half.

Stetson rallied back, slicing UNF's advantage to only five points twice over the next six minutes. Smith smashed a shot from behind the arc to give the Hatters some momentum and pull the home team with in five – 39-34 – with a little more than 10 minutes to play. However, on the ensuing possession, senior Jennifer Bowen answered with her own damage from downtown, pushing UNF's lead back to eight points.

Freshman Kayla Mobley then went to work in the paint, scoring UNF's next six points in less than a minute to lift the Lady Ospreys to a 12-point lead. Mobley finished with eight points in 16 minutes of play.

With less than three minutes remaining and UNF sporting a nine-point edge, Syquio nabbed one of her eight steals and tossed the ball ahead to Kirkland, who finished the fastbreak play to give the Lady Ospreys an 11-point lead. UNF led by double figures the rest of the way.

"The girls finally saw their defensive efforts translate into some scoring opportunities," Tappmeyer said. "We didn't convert all the chances early but the team felt good about the pressure they applied on the defensive end."

The Lady Ospreys held Smith to a 4-for-14 shooting performance, but Stetson center Jessica Connor went 5-for-7 from the floor and 5-for-6 from the charity stripe to post a double-double with 15 points and 15 rebounds.

Syquio totaled 13 points in the contest and played a season-high 27 minutes. She also added four rebounds and three assists.

The win snapped a 12-game losing streak, which dated back to its second conference contest of the season – a Dec. 6 matchup against Belmont. Additionally, the win is the first ever for the Lady Ospreys at Stetson and marks the first time either team has won away from its home hardwood in the series.

On Saturday, UNF will try to start a new streak when it visits Florida Gulf Coast for a 7 p.m. contest.