Women's Basketball Upsets Stetson, 59-56

Saturday, February 4

Jacksonville, Fla.

4:30 pm

University of North Florida

-915, 67 ASun

Stetson

-196, 103 ASun

Team	1	2	F
Stetson	29	27	56
North Florida	30	29	59

Photo by: JC Ridley

2/4/2012 7:17:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

By: North Florida Athletics

Boxscore (PDF)
Complete Book

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – With 36 paint points and 23 points off turnovers, University of North Florida women's basketball held on for a 59-56 victory against Stetson, who is second in the Atlantic Sun, on Saturday at UNF Arena.

Larkira Jones recorded a season-best 14 points and grabbed a game-best eight rebounds. Jones got a bulk of her points from the field, going 6-for-8 in the game. Brittany Kirkland tied her career-high for assists, dishing out eight.

Victoria McGowan, the Atlantic Sun's leading scorer, tallied 21 points. Sasha Sims also added 11 for the Hatters. Cherisse Burris recorded a team-best seven rebounds.

UNF (9-15, 6-7 Atlantic Sun) shot 45.5 percent for the game (25-for-55) and was consistent in both halves (45.2 percent and 14-for-31 in the first and 45.8 percent and 11-for-24 in the second). UNF also out-rebounded the Hatters 39-31.

Stetson (19-6, 10-3 Atlantic Sun) shot 37.9 percent for the game and was 22-for-58 from the floor.

All of UNF's scoring in the first half came from the field. The Ospreys didn't go to the foul line once and had 20 of their 30 points come in the paint.

The first half began with Stetson leading for much of the first half. After a 6-6 tie, Stetson went up by five on a McGowan three to make it 13-8 at 13:50. UNF cut into the Hatters' lead and went up 16-15 with a Destinee Smith jumper at 10:24. Stetson went on a 10-2 run over a span of five-and-a-half minutes to lead by as many as seven. A Sims layup at 4:12 gave Stetson the 25-18 lead.

UNF clawed back, tying the game at 25-all on a Kirkland jumper at 1:45 and then regaining the lead with a Molly Grund three at 42 seconds. Stetson and UNF traded baskets to close out the first half as the Ospreys carried a 30-29 advantage into halftime.

Stetson started the second half with a Sims jumper, but UNF responded with six unanswered points to go up 38-31 at 16:08. Although the Hatters eventually brought UNF's lead down to three, the Ospreys used a 7-0 run to build a 10-point cushion. Jadhken Kerr's trey at 10:10 put UNF ahead 45-35. Stetson chipped away at the Ospreys' advantage and eventually tied the game at 56-all with a McGowan three at 1:03. Octavia Langston's layup at 37 seconds broke the tie and Destinee Smith's foul shot provided UNF with a three-point cushion at with five seconds left.

The Ospreys return to the road for their next two games, starting with USC Upstate on Thursday. Game time is set for 7 p.m., from Hodge Center.