Lady Ospreys wrap up road trip

Monday, January 5

Johnson City, Tenn.

4:45 p.m.

University of North Florida

East Tennessee State University

Junior Shennette Sheffield had nine points and seven rebounds against Upstate

1/4/2009 8:36:00 AM | Women's Basketball

UNF will play three-straight home games after Monday

By: Adam Jonson, UNF Athletics

Game Notes

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Looking to snap its current seven-game slide, the University of North Florida women's basketball team will wrap up its two-game Atlantic Sun Conference road trip with a 4:45 p.m. matchup against East Tennessee State in Johnson City, Tenn., on Monday.

UNF (2-10, 1-2 A-Sun) dropped a 69-50 decision to USC Upstate in its last outing, which tipped off the 2009 portion of the Lady Ospreys' slate and continued conference competition. Senior Jennifer Bowen headed the squad with 10 points while fellow senior Jennifer Gulgader collected a game-high eight rebounds.

ETSU (4-6, 2-1) fell to Mercer in its first league contest of the season before rebounding with an overtime win at Kennesaw State two weeks later. In their first action of the new year, the Bucs posted an 86-77 win over Jacksonville to keep a share of second place in the A-Sun standings.

Winners of three of their last four, the Bucs have allowed at least 72 points in their past three games. The lone loss in that stretch came at the hands of Wake Forest, 72-66. Before picking it its first A-Sun win against Kennesaw State, ETSU knocked off Southeastern Conference member Kentucky, 59-50.

During UNF's seven-game losing streak, the team has been outscored by an average of 19.9 points and has shot only .302 percent from the field, compared to .391 percent by its opponents. The Lady Ospreys are .575 percent from the free-throw line in that stint, averaging 6.6 free throws made per game while their opponents have connected on .785 percent of their attempts from the charity stripe and average 15.1 free throws made per game.

The Lady Ospreys and Bucs met just once last season and ETSU upheld its perfect record against UNF, running it to 5-0 with a 57-39 win. Junior Shennette Sheffield and sophomore Brittany Jones each notched 10 point in the losing effort while Jones and seniors Jennifer Bowen and Jennifer Guldager all grabbed seven rebounds. This season's contest will mark the fourth meeting between the two in Johnson City.

When: Monday, Jan. 5 – 4:45 p.m.

Where: Johnson City, Tenn. (Brooks Gym)

ASUN.TV: Click here (coverage begins at 4:15 p.m.)

Live Stats: Click here (begins at 4:45 p.m.)

UNF's Record: 2-10, 1-2 A-Sun

ETSU's Record: 4-6, 2-1 A-Sun

Series: ETSU leads, 5-0

Last Meeting: Jan. 25, 2008 (ETSU won, 57-39 in Johnson City, Tenn.)

Who's Hot: Redshirt freshman Kim Baker finished Saturday's contest with a 3-for-5 mark from the field and connected on UNF's only make from downtown in the matchup against USC Upstate. She scored seven points in 18 minutes and grabbed a pair of rebounds.

Quoting Coach Tappmeyer: "We continue to make new mistakes each game, which is a result of having such a young team. It is crucial that we take better care of the ball if we want to get another mark in the win column. ETSU is very aggressive and features players that are good in one-on-one situations. They only play six or seven, but they play hard for 40 minutes.

Gameday Notables: UNF is in its final season of the four-year transition into Division I … the Lady Ospreys are 3-3 all-time when playing on Jan. 5 … today marks the second Jan. 5 meeting between UNF and ETSU (ETSU won 80-59 on 1/5/06) … UNF is currently on a seven-game ski, which is tied for the longest losing streak in program history (first from Dec. 30, 2004 to Jan. 22, 2005) … the Lady Ospreys are coming off their best finish since entering the transitional period, finishing with a 13-16 overall record and 8-8 A-Sun record in 2007-08 … seniors Jennifer Bowen and Guldager will steer the program once again, having been with the team through every season of the reclassification process.