No. 7 North Florida Outlasts No. 6 Jacksonville, 50-46, Advances to A-Sun Finals

Friday, March 5

Macon, Ga.

2:30 p.m.

University of North Florida

Jacksonville

No. 7 North Florida Outlasts No. 6 Jacksonville, 50-46, Advances to A-Sun Finals

3/5/2010 5:48:35 PM | Women's Basketball

MACON, Ga. – In its first year of postseason eligibility, No. 7 seeded University of North Florida women's basketball team advances to the finals of the 2010 General Shale Brick Atlantic Sun Conference Championship by outlasting crosstown rival and No. 6 seeded Jacksonville, 50-46, on Friday, March 5 in the semifinals at the University Center in Macon, Ga.

The Ospreys improve to 12-19 overall, while JU falls to 10-20.

Sophomore guard Brittany Kirkland and junior guard Juliemay Syquio talled 10 points each. Senior center Shennette Sheffield set a career-high, an A-Sun tournament record and tied a UNF single game record with six blocked shots. Senior forward Arlande Cherizol grabbed 13 rebounds.

“I think the hardest part of about a championship game is getting there,” said head coach Mary Tappmeyer. “This was a tough game against our rival JU, but again our defense was the answer. It is really special and will be really special to this team that they were able to reach the championship game in our first year of eligibility.”

UNF jumped out early to a 10-3 lead over the Dolphins at the 12:07 mark. The Ospreys took their largest lead of the half at 8:22, up 11 (18-7). UNF took a nine point, 26-17 lead into the break.

The Dolphins came out in the second half with a 12-5 run to cut the Osprey lead down to two (31-29) with 12:20 on the clock. UNF responded to extend the lead to 41-30 with 5:55 left in the game. JU again rallied to pull within two (48-46) with just under a minute left. The Dolphins had a chance, but a steal by freshman forward Jadhken Kerr gave UNF the possession. JU quickly fouled, but Kerr knocked down both free throws to secure the win.

North Florida shot 39.2 percent (20-51) from the field, while Jacksonville shot 24.6 percent (15-61). The Ospreys shot 14.3 percent (2-14) from behind the arc and 80.0 percent (8-10) from the free throw line. The Dolphins shot 18.8 percent (3-16) from 3-point range and 76.5 percent (13-17) from the line. Gigi Thomas led the Dolphins with 12 points, while Taneskei Richardson grabbed eight rebounds.

The Ospreys will face No. 1 seeded ETSU at Noon on Saturday, March 6 in the final game of the Atlantic Sun Conference Championship.