Lady Ospreys hope for home-court help

Thursday, January 8

Jacksonville, Fla.

7 p.m.

University of North Florida

Kennesaw State University

The Lady Ospreys are 2-4 at UNF Arena this season

1/7/2009 10:05:00 AM | Women's Basketball

UNF begins a three-game homestand Thursday against Kennesaw State

By: Adam Jonson, UNF Athletics

Game Notes

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Returning to its home hardwood after two weeks on the road, the University of North Florida women's basketball team begins a three-game Atlantic Sun Conference homestand on Thursday when it hosts Kennesaw State at 7 p.m. at UNF Arena.

UNF (2-11, 1-3 A-Sun) picked up its last win during its A-Sun opener against Lipscomb at UNF Arena during the first week of December. Since then, the Lady Ospreys have dropped eight straight, including their last three conference contests.

Kennesaw State (5-6, 2-1) slipped in its first four games of the season before stringing together three-straight wins, including a win over USC Upstate in the Owls' A-Sun opener. KSU has won two of its last three, with wins over Longwood and Campbell. The Owls dropped a 79-78 overtime decision to East Tennessee State.

Three players average more than 10 points a game for KSU, led by Jennifer Baker's 11.6 points per game. Greteya Kelley has added an average of 11.3 points per game while Gia Lockett chips in 10.2 per contest. This season's A-Sun Preseason Player of the Year Britteny Henderson leads the team with 6.7 rebounds per outing and averages 9.6 points.

UNF and KSU met twice last season and split the results with both teams winning on their respective home floors. The Owls emerged victorious in the first meeting on Jan. 12 (69-54) before junior Shennette Sheffield's 18 points paved the path for a 50-49 Lady Osprey victory on Feb. 25. Senior Jennifer Guldager grabbed 14 rebounds in the matchup.

When: Thursday, Jan. 8 – 7 p.m.

Where: UNF Arena

Admission: Adult – $5; Seniors (55+)/Youth (13-17) – $3; See promotions below.

ASUN.TV: Click here (coverage begins at 6:45 p.m.)

Live Stats: Click here (begins at 7 p.m.)

UNF's Record: 2-11 (1-3 A-Sun)

Kennesaw State's Record: 5-6 (2-1 A-Sun)

Series: KSU leads, 13-10

Last Meeting: Feb. 25, 2008 (UNF won, 50-49, at UNF Arena)

Who's Hot: Senior Jennifer Bowen flushed eight of her 14 attempts from the field and her only free-throw try against ETSU, posting a Lady Osprey season-high 17 points. She also led the team with eight rebounds and two assists in 35 minutes of action.

Quoting Coach Tappmeyer: "It will be nice to be back at home after a long two weeks on the road. We played in a tough Lehigh tournament and faced the defending A-Sun champion in our last outing. We were disappointed with our performance at Upstate, but our last two conference games were good precursors for Kennesaw State. Our first four games in 2009 are against up-tempo teams with scrappy defenses. We have begun to shoot the ball better, and we hope to continue that trend and continue to improve by using our home-court advantage."

Gameday Notables: UNF is in its final season of the four-year transition into Division I … the Lady Ospreys are 3-2 all-time when playing on Jan. 5 … UNF is currently on an eight-game skid, which is the longest losing streak in program history (was seven 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 … Bowen and Guldager will steer the program once again, having been with the team through every season of the reclassification process.

Promotions: Veteran and Military Appreciation Night … all veterans receive free admission.