University of North Florida
Jacksonville
UNF to Host Crosstown Rival JU in “Pack the House” Challenge
1/26/2011 5:32:11 PM | Women's Basketball
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The University of North Florida women's basketball team will host crosstown, Atlantic Sun Conference rival Jacksonville University on Thursday, Jan. 27 in a 7 p.m. game at UNF Arena. “White Out” the Dolphins during the first meeting between the two teams in this season's River City Rumble “Battle of the Barrel” which is also part of the NCAA's “Pack the House” challenge.
UNF (6-12, 4-5 A-Sun) has won four of their past five games and is looking to bounce back after falling 54-50 to Kennesaw State in the team's last outing. Junior Brittany Kirkland posted 16 points against the Owls while sophomore Larkira Jones grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds.
Kirkland leads the team on the season, averaging 15.2 points per game. Sophomore Taylor Smith is adding 7.7 points per game and senior Juliemay Syquio is posting 7.3 points while dishing out 3.28 assists per game. Sophomore Jadhken Kerr is tallying 7.1 points per game. Jones leads the team with 7.9 rebounds per game and a league-best 1.72 blocked shots per game.
The Dolphins (9-9, 5-4 A-Sun) are coming off an 80-78 overtime win against Mercer. JU is led by four players averaging 10 or more points per game. Tanes Richardson and Crystal Bell are putting up 10.8 points per game each. Lynsey Paschal is adding 10.5 while Gigi Thomas is tallying 10.1 points per game. Richardson is also pulling down a team-high 9.6 rebounds per game.
JU leads the all-time series, but the Ospreys have won the last two meetings defeating the Dolphins 50-46 in the semifinal round of the 2010 Atlantic Sun conference tournament after securing a 58-50 win earlier in the season at UNF Arena. The Dolphins had a 64-58 win in overtime at Swisher Gymnasium. Kirkland averaged 17 points against the Dolphins last season and Syquio added 9.3 points per game.
Fans are encouraged to wear white to the game to “white out” the Dolphins. It will also mark the “Pack the House” challenge for the Ospreys as they compete against other schools in the conference to see who can have the most fans at a single game and set a new attendance record.
Following Thursday's game, the Ospreys remain home to host Campbell on Saturday, Jan. 29 at 4:30 p.m.
