JU Outlasts UNF, 64-58 in Overtime of River City Rumble Battle

Monday, January 18

Jacksonville, Fla.

5:00 p.m.

University of North Florida

Jacksonville

Photo by: Sideline Sports/UNF Athletics

JU Outlasts UNF, 64-58 in Overtime of River City Rumble Battle

1/18/2010 8:18:19 PM | Women's Basketball

BOX SCORE

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The University of North Florida women's basketball team fell 64-58 in overtime to Jacksonville in Atlantic Sun Conference action on Monday, Jan. 18, at Swisher Gymnasium on the campus of JU.

The Ospreys dropped to 5-13 overall and 2-7 in Atlantic Sun play, while Jacksonville moved to 5-14 and 4-5 in league play.

The North Florida men and women return home to take on USC Upstate in double-header action on Thursday, Jan. 21, at UNF Arena. The women tip at 5:30 p.m. in the first game, with the men tipping at 7:45 p.m. Both games can be seen on ASun.TV.

“I thought we played tough throughout the game,” said UNF head coach Mary Tappmeyer. “Unfortunately we missed a lot of chances. We missed some huge rebounds, not to mention missing some lay-ups which is the easiest shot in basketball. We need to do a better job focusing and making the shots that we need to make.”

Both teams started the game out slow with UNF owning a 1-0 lead almost five minutes in before Jacksonville scored the first field goal of the game at the 15:06 mark to take a 2-1 lead. Neither team led by more than three points in the first half with JU leading 4-1 with 14:31 left before the break.

There were six ties and seven lead changes in the first half as both teams shot below 30 percent from the field. The Dolphins took a 23-21 lead into the halftime locker room. Sophomore guard Brittany Kirkland led the Ospreys with 10 first half points.

In the opening minutes of the second half the two teams kept the score close, but JU broke open the scoring to take a seven point, 35-28 lead at the 13:15 mark. The Ospreys threatened several times over the next six minutes, but the Dolphins held on to a 48-41 lead with 7:17 to play. UNF responded with an 8-0 run to take its first lead since the opening minutes of the half, up 49-48 with 3:53 remaining.

With Jacksonville leading 52-51 with 44 seconds left, redshirt freshman guard Jadhken Kerr saw her 3-pointer rattle in and out as the Dolphins grabbed the rebound. The Ospreys went on the defensive and forced a JU traveling call to regain possession with 17.6 seconds to play. UNF raced the length of the court with junior guard Juliemay Syquio driving to the basket but she was called for a charge with 11 seconds to go. The Ospreys fouled JU's Courtney Jackson with nine seconds left. She made just one of two free throws to make it 53-51, but UNF responded as Syquio hit a lay-up to tie the score at 53 with 1.5 seconds remaining to force overtime.

The overtime session was tight throughout with the teams trading baskets. Kerr knocked down her first three of the game at the 2:06 mark to put the Ospreys up 58-57. That is the last basket UNF would score in overtime as the Dolphins closed out the game scoring the final seven points.

Kirkland led all scorers with a career-high 25 points. Junior guard Juliemay Syquio added 14 points and dished out a game-high six assists. Senior forward Arlande Cherizol pulled down a game and career-high 18 rebounds after having notched a career-high 17 in the team's last game.

North Florida shot 33.9 percent (21-62) from the field, while Jacksonville shot 32.4 percent (22-68). The Ospreys shot 7.7 percent (1-13) from behind the arc and 60.0 percent (15-25) from the free throw line. The Dolphins shot 35.0 percent (7-20) from 3-point range and 61.9 percent (13-21) from the line. Williams led Jacksonville with 17 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 5:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. games on Thursday. 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.