UNF Downs Lipscomb 75-64 In A-Sun Action

Saturday, January 16

UNF Arena

4:30 p.m.

University of North Florida

Lipscomb

Cherizol pulled down 17 rebounds in win

1/16/2010 7:21:01 PM | Women's Basketball

Kirkland pours in 23 and Cherizol pulls down 17 boards

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The University of North Florida women's basketball team jumped out to a 20-4 lead and never let the lead dip below seven in downing Lipscomb 75-64 in Atlantic Sun Conference action on Saturday, Jan. 16, at UNF Arena.

Leading the way for UNF was sophomore guard Brittany Kirkland with 23 points, one off her career high, and senior forward Arlande Cherizol, who pulled down a career high 17 rebounds, three more than her previous best.

The Ospreys improved 5-12 overall and 2-6 in Atlantic Sun play, while Lipscomb fell to 4-14 and 2-6 in league play.

The North Florida men and women will now head across town for a Martin Luther King holiday double-header with crosstown rival Jacksonville on Monday, Jan. 18, in the first of two SunTrust River City Rumble match-ups this season. The women tip off at 5 p.m. and the men at 8 p.m. at Swisher Gymnasium, with both games sold-out. Both games are also televised in Jacksonville on CSS (Comcast cable channel 54). The games can also be seen on ASun.tv.

“We took care of home court to win after playing our third game in a week which is tough and I really thought they bought into the defense,” said UNF head coach Mary Tappmeyer. “They did some really good things defensively. Arlande (Cherizol) was a monster with 17 rebounds off the glass. I thought we withstood their rally when they hit some big threes because they are a really good 3-point shooting team. In the past that might have been something where we would of said, 'uh oh,' but today I thought they really played fearless which is what we have to do.”

North Florida started out the game on fire, scoring the first eight points of the game, and then extending the lead to 20-4 at the 11:20 mark of the first half. Kirkland had six points and redshirt freshman guard Jadhken Kerr five in the opening surge.

The Ospreys maintained a double-digit lead for most of the first half with their largest lead being 18 (35-17) with 3:23 before the break. Lipscomb ended the half on an 11-2 run to cut the lead to single digits (nine) for the first time since 15:07 in the first half as the half ended 37-28.

Kirkland had 12 points at the half and Cherizol pulled down eight rebounds. UNF shot 50 percent from the field in the first half while holding the Bison to 33.3 percent.

Lipscomb continued its run early in the second half, cutting UNF's lead to seven at 50-43 with 12:38 to play. But the Ospreys responded with a 12-0 run over the next four-plus minutes to gain their largest lead of the game at 19 (62-43) with 8:21 remaining.

In addition to Kirkland's 23, junior guard Juliemay Syquio added 15 and Kerr 10. Kirkland added a game-high six assists.

North Florida shot 48.3 percent (29-60) from the field, while Lipscomb shot 37.3 percent (19-51). The Ospreys shot 31.6 percent (6-19) from behind the arc and 61.1 percent (11-18) from the free throw line. The Bison shot 40.9 percent (9-22) from 3-point range and 65.4 percent (17-26) from the line. Anna Bowers led Lipscomb with 13 points.

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.