Box Score
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The University of North Florida women's basketball team dropped a 55-51 decision to Belmont in Atlantic Sun Conference action on Thursday, Jan. 14, at UNF Arena.
The Ospreys fell to 4-12 overall and 1-6 in Atlantic Sun play, while Belmont improved to 8-7 and 3-4 in league play.
The women will remain at home to face Atlantic Sun Conference foe Lipscomb on Saturday, Jan. 16, at 4:30 p.m. The game will be played at UNF Arena and is a doubleheader with the Osprey men's team who faces Lipscomb at 7 p.m. If you are unable to attend the games they can be seen on ASun.tv.
The Ospreys jumped out to an early 14-6 lead with 14:39 left in the half before Belmont closed the gap to three (17-14) at the 10:06 mark. The defense picked up for both teams the last part of the first half, especially for UNF, as it held the Bruins to just one point over the last 10 minutes of the half. North Florida closed the half on an 8-1 run to take a 25-15 lead into the halftime locker room.
Sophomore guard Brittany Kirkland had a huge half for UNF as she poured in 16 points and added two assists. North Florida held Belmont to 16.7 percent shooting from the field in the first half, while shooting 45.5 percent.
UNF had its biggest lead of the game at 13 just seconds into the second half as redshirt freshman guard Jadhken Kerr nailed a 3-pointer to make the score 28-15, but Belmont responded and began chipping away at the North Florida lead.
The Ospreys still led by 11 at 41-30 with 12:14 to play before hitting a dry spell. The Bruins continued to rally and went on a 20-3 run over the next 11 minutes, taking their first lead of the game with just 5:20 remaining at 45-44, and ending the run up 50-44 with just 44 second left. UNF would cut the lead to 52-50 with 15 seconds left but Belmont hit its free throws down the stretch to hold on for the win.
Kirkland led UNF with 19 points and five assists, while senior Arlande Cherizol added 11 points and seven rebounds. Junior Juliemay Syquio grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds.
North Florida shot 36.5 percent (19-52) from the field, while Belmont shot 35.2 percent (19-54). The Ospreys shot 36.4 percent (4-11) from behind the arc and 56.3 percent (9-16) from the free throw line. The Bruins shot 27.3 percent (6-22) from 3-point range and 50 percent (11-22) from the line. Haley Nelson led Belmont with 20 points and eight rebounds.
Single-game tickets for basketball games are $10 for adults and $8 for youth 17-and-under and senior citizens 55-and-older. One ticket will admit you to both the 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. games on those days. Children 2-and-under and any current UNF student with a valid Osprey1 Card are admitted free. Student guest passes for those events are $5 and limited to one per student. If you are unable to attend the games they can be seen on ASun.tv.
