Long-Range Shots Lift #WBB to 61-40 Win over Air Force

Friday, December 20

Jacksonville, Fla.

3:30 p.m.

University of North Florida

3-7

Air Force

1-8

Air Force

North Florida

12/20/2013 6:10:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

By: North Florida Athletics

Boxscore (PDF)

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Half of University of North Florida women's basketball's made field goals came from three-point range during the Ospreys' 61-40 victory over Air Force in the first day of the Hampton Inn Oceanfront Holiday Classic at UNF Arena.

"We had been on the road a lot, so it is really good to be back at home and be in friendly confines with fans," said head coach Mary Tappmeyer "Our bench got a lot of experience at Florida State. We can use our depth and we got a lot of contributions off the bench. Destinee Smith was in the zone tonight. We shot the ball really well, and when you do that, that has a tendency to make our defense be better."

The Ospreys hit 11 three-pointers in the game, while going 22-for-48 from the field and shooting 45.8 percent for the game. Destinee Smith led the way, going a perfect 5-for-5 from three-point range for a game-high 19 points. Bailey Florin added 11 points, while Ki Conner scored 10.

"Hitting the three-point shots makes it difficult to guard us inside and out," said Tappmeyer. "If we're hitting the shots from the outside, it makes our offense look a lot better. When you hit a three, you get a ton of confidence. We got wide open shots and we knocked them down."

UNF out-rebounded Air Force 36-32. Larkira Jones grabbed a game-best seven boards.

Jimi Blagowsky led Air Force with nine points, while Camille Thompson grabbed six rebounds.

Air Force shot 31.3 percent (15-for-48) for the game.

UNF led from start to finish and got out to a quick 15-point lead in the first half. A made free throw from Jones sparked a 13-0 run that saw UNF take an 18-3 lead at 13:18 on a Conner jumper. However, an eight-and-a-half minute Osprey scoring drought allowed the Air Force to cut UNF's lead down to four. Kelly Lujan hit a three at 12:56 that started an 11-0 Falcon run. A Thompson layup at 4:44 capped the run as UNF held an 18-14 lead. A three-pointer from Smith at 4:15 snapped the Ospreys' drought and started an 11-3 spurt as UNF finished the first half with a 29-17 advantage.

Air Force opened the second half with a 10-3 run to cut the Ospreys' lead down to five. UNF answered with another Smith three, which started a 10-1 run that allowed the Ospreys to go up 42-28 at 13:44 and start to pull away.

Strong defense powered the Ospreys in the last part of the half. After Madeleine Philpot made a Falcon layup at 9:11, UNF held Air Force scoreless for nearly seven-and-a-half minutes while building up a 23-point advantage. A layup from Zaveckaite at 3:56 gave UNF a 61-38 advantage. Air Force's scoring drought ended a 1:47 with a Lindsey Lewis layup, which was also the final points of the game.

UNF returns to action on Saturday against Georgia Southern in the final game of the Hampton Inn Oceanfront Holiday Classic at UNF Arena. Tip-off is set for 3:30 p.m.

Saturday will also be "Take A Parent To The Game" day in which fans receive a free youth ticket with the purchase of an adult ticket. Additionally, UNF will recognize youth that have excelled on their report cards, with any fan receiving an "A" on a report card getting a free youth ticket for the women's game. A report card must be brought each day to receive the youth ticket.