University of North Florida
Mercer
Ospreys Outlast Bears, 56-54
1/22/2011 4:29:07 PM | Women's Basketball
BOXSCORE
MACON, Ga. – Tied with two seconds left, sophomore Jadhken Kerr hit a jumper just inside the paint to propel the University of North Florida women's basketball team past Mercer, 56-54 on Saturday afternoon at the University Center in Macon, Ga.
“We really stole one on the road,” said head coach Mary Tappmeyer. “Mercer played better than we did, and we were fortunate to walk away with a win today.”
Leading UNF (6-11, 4-4 A-Sun) was sophomore Larkira Jones with her third double-double of the season and her second straight. She tallied 13 points and 13 rebounds. Senior Juliemay Syquio notched nine points while junior Brittany Kirkland and freshman Raneisha Lamar had seven each.
The Bears (1-16, 1-7 A-Sun) were led by Briana Williams with 15 points. Brittnee Hazel had 13 while Alex Phillips added 11. Sharmesia Smith grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds.
Both teams got off to a slow start with both teams scoreless during the opening two and half minutes of the game. UNF broke the draught, going up by six, 12-6, at the 14:52 mark. The Bears kept it close and tied it up at 16 with 10:45 left in the half. UNF and MU traded baskets and were tied again at 20 before UNF went on a 7-2 run to take 27-22 lead with just under four minutes to go. Mercer responded with a 5-0 run to tie the game for the fifth time with 1:31 left before the intermission. The Bears would get one more basket before the break to take a 30-27 lead into the half.
Mercer extended its lead coming out of the break, going up 34-29. UNF answered with a 12-0 run to take a seven point, 41-34 at the 13:43 mark. The Bears answered with an 11-1 run to reclaim the lead with 9:36 left to play. UNF and MU traded baskets and were tied at 47 before UNF scored five unanswered points taking a 54-48 advantage with just under three minutes left.
The Bears went on one final run to tie the game at 54 with 10 seconds left. UNF took the ball out of bounds and with two second remaining Kerr got a jumper off just past the free throw line to secure the Osprey win.
With the win UNF is on a four game conference win streak, their longest since joining the league in 2005.
The Ospreys hit 39.7 percent (23-of-58) from the field and 30.0 percent (3-of-10) from three point range. Mercer knocked down 32.3 percent (21-of-65) from the field and 33.3 percent (5-of-15) from outside. Both teams shot in the 40 percent range from the charity stripe. The Ospreys hit 46.7 percent (7-of-15) while the Bears connected on 43.8 percent (7-of-16).
UNF hit 34 points in the paint to Mercer's 24 and scored 11 points off of 12 Mercer turnover while the Bears hit just three points off turnovers. The Ospreys also hit 10 points in transition and had big bench numbers with 17 points coming off the bench to just eight by the Bears.
