Women's Basketball's Rally Comes Up Short Against UMES

Saturday, December 15

Jacksonville, Fla.

3:30 p.m.

University of North Florida

3-7

University of Maryland Eastern Shore

3-5

UMES

North Florida

12/15/2012 6:40:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

By: North Florida Athletics

Boxscore (PDF)

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A spirited second-half comeback fell just short for the University of North Florida women's basketball team on Saturday as the Ospreys dropped a 54-52 game to University of Maryland Eastern Shore in the final game of the Hampton Inn Oceanfront Holiday Classic at UNF Arena.

“We had the shot, but we just didn't have the chance to knock it in,” said head coach Mary Tappmeyer. “We guarded in the second half like how we expect our team to guard, but we had some really good wide-open shots that needed to hit.”

Jadhken Kerr led UNF with 11 points. Chandler Merkerson had a near double-double with nine points and a team-best nine rebounds. Shayla Wilson also added nine points to the Ospreys' offense.

Karona Roach had a game-high 19 points, while Jessica Long tallied 10. Shanyce Stewart also had a game-best nine rebounds.

UNF held a slight edge in both shooting percentage and rebounding. The Ospreys were 35.7 percent (20-for-56) from the floor, while UMES was 35.3 percent (18-for-51). UNF had a 40-36 advantage in rebounds.

UNF and UMES battled it out for most of the first half. The largest lead held by either team in the first 15 minutes was an early six-point Osprey advantage. Kerr hit a trey at 17:00 that put UNF up 8-2. The Hawks cut into UNF's lead and went up by one on a Taylor Thompson jumper just a couple of minutes later. UNF and UMES remained within striking distance of each other, and a Kerr layup at 5:22 made it a 22-20 game in favor of the Hawks. However, UMES went on a 13-5 run to end the half with a 35-25 lead.

Behind a 12-4 run to start the second half, UMES was able to take the game's largest lead – 18 points – when Shy-Kiyla hit a pair of free throws to make it 47-29 with 9:36 to go. UNF answered with a 9-0 run that sliced the Hawks' lead in half. Wilson scored five of the run's points, which saw the Ospreys make it a 47-38 game at 4:49.

UMES built up a 14-point lead two Long foul shots and a Roach jumper and free throw in order to hold a 52-38 advantage at 3:40. The Ospreys fought back and used a 12-1 run to make it a three-point game. Bre Crum made a critical steal and a layup that capped the run as UMES was up 53-50 with 26 seconds to go. The Hawks went up by four on a Roach free throw, but another Crum layup moved UNF closer to UMES, this time by two. After UMES missed a pair of free throws, UNF had one more chance, but the game-tying layup just missed and halted the Ospreys' rally.

Following the game, the All-Tournament Team was announced. Ki Conner was selected to the team and she was joined by Campbell's Tonisha Baker and Kiera Gaines, Jacksonville State's Briana Morrow, and UMES' Karona Roach.

UNF plays its nonconference finale on Wednesday against Coastal Carolina in the Carolinas Challenge. Tip-off is set for 5 p.m., from the Myrtle Beach Convention Center.