UNF Falls to Belmont

Monday, February 8

Nashville, Tenn.

8 p.m.

University of North Florida

Belmont

Photo by: Sideline Sports/UNF Athletics

2/8/2010 10:43:40 PM | Women's Basketball

BOX SCORE

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The University of North Florida women's basketball team fell to Belmont, 77-68, in Atlantic Sun Conference action on Monday, Feb. 8, at the Curb Event Center in Nashville, Tenn.

The Ospreys fall to 7-16 overall and 4-10 in Atlantic Sun play, while Belmont improves to 12-11 and 7-8 in league play.

Sophomore guard Brittany Kirkland led the Ospreys with 20 points. Freshman forward Jadhken Kerr added nine points for UNF while senior forward Arlande Cherizol tallied eight points. Freshman center Larkira Jones pulled down eight rebounds.

“I'm really disappointed in our defensive effort,” said UNF head coach Mary Tappmeyer. “The fact that they shot 22 free throws in the second half and only made six baskets from the field is a testament to how we did not play our style of defense. In order to win on the road, you have to be able to defend. You can't trade baskets with a team on their home court.”

Belmont took an early six point, 13-7 lead at the 16:35 mark and again with 13:32 (15-9) on the clock, but UNF responded with an 11-2 run to take a 21-17 lead with 10:18 left in the first half. The Bruins again took the lead, going up 27-23 at the 6:55 mark. UNF answered with a 10-3 run to pull back into the lead, up 33-30 with 2:25 remaining in the half. Belmont went on the final run of the half, outscoring the Ospreys 11-2 in the last two and half minutes to take a six point, 41-35 lead into the break.

The Bruins continued their run into the second half, going up by 11 three different times in the opening minutes. UNF cut the lead down several times in the period, but would close the gap to its lowest margin, down five (73-68) with just over a minute remaining. That is as close as the Ospreys would come as the Bruins went 4-of-4 from the line to close out the game.

North Florida shot 40.7 percent (24-59) from the field, while Belmont shot 46.7 percent (21-45). The Ospreys shot 42.9 percent (6-14) from behind the arc and 70.0 percent (14-20) from the free throw line. The Bruins shot 52.2 percent (12-23) from 3-point range and 85.2 percent (23-27) from the line. Four players recorded double-digits for the Bruins with Cacy Burtnett leading with 19 points. Alyssa Visbeen added 18 points while Kristin Bunch and Amber Rockwell had 13 and 11, respectively.

The Ospreys will be back in action on Thursday, Feb. 11, when they host Stetson at 5:30 p.m. UNF will host Florida Gulf Coast on Saturday, Feb. 13 at 4:30 p.m. Both games are doubleheaders with the UNF men's team. If you are unable to attend the games they can be seen on ASun.tv.