Women's Basketball Edges Kennesaw State, 52-49

Saturday, January 12

Jacksonville, Fla.

2 p.m.

University of North Florida

-79, 32 ASun

Kennesaw State

-412, 04 ASun

Team	1	2	F
Kennesaw State	28	21	49
North Florida	35	17	52

Photo by: JC Ridley

1/12/2013 6:52:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

By: North Florida Athletics

Boxscore (PDF)

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – University of North Florida women's basketball opened a three-game homestand with a 52-49 victory over Kennesaw State on Saturday at UNF Arena.

“Defensively, we really battled,” said head coach Mary Tappmeyer. “When you hold a team to 49 points that says a lot about your defense. Offensively, we have to get a lot better because we make the job harder on the defensive end when we don't execute on the offensive side of the ball.”

Raneisha Lamar notched her third double-double of the season with 16 points – a career high – and 10 rebounds. Ki Conner, who was 4-for-6 from beyond the arc, added 12 points. Jadhken Kerr dished out five assists.

Kristina Wells led the Owls with a 20 points, while Sametria Gideon had an 11-point, 10-rebound double-double. Ashley Holliday also added 11 points.

UNF outshot Kennesaw State and held a 40-33 advantage in rebounds. The Ospreys shot 38.0 percent (19-for-50) from the floor, while Kennesaw State was 35.2 percent (19-for-54). The Ospreys also held the Owls' scoring to just four of the seven players that saw time on the court.

UNF had a strong start to the first half and quickly built up a 15-point advantage. The Osprey defense held Kennesaw State scoreless for a 5:10 span, while the offense rattled off 12 points. A layup from Lamar capped off the run at 12:25 and UNF went up 17-5.

The Ospreys pushed their lead to as much as 19 points as Conner swished a trey at 8:58 to make it 29-10. However, Kennesaw State chipped away at its deficit and used an 18-6 run in the final 8:44 to make it a seven-point game as UNF took a 35-28 lead into halftime.

UNF regained a double-digit lead behind a second-half starting 8-2 run that was capped with a layup by Kerr that put the Ospreys up 44-30 at 14:41. After trading buckets, both teams went without a field goal for five-and-a-half minutes. Up by eight, Conner hit another three and UNF held a 49-38 with 7:14 to go. Although Kennesaw State cut into the Ospreys' lead and pulled to within three on a Gideon jumper at 1:21, UNF held off the Owls in order to pick up the win.

The Ospreys return to action on Monday evening when they host Mercer at 7 p.m., at UNF Arena.