#WBB Falls in Close Game at Stetson

Thursday, January 23

DeLand, Fla.

7 p.m.

University of North Florida

Stetson

1/23/2014 9:13:00 PM | Women's Basketball

By: North Florida Athletics

Boxscore (PDF)

DeLAND, Fla. – Junior Destinee Smith notched her second-straight 20-point game, but University of North Florida women's basketball dropped an intense 75-67 game to Stetson Thursday night at the Edmunds Center.

"It's a tough one," said head coach Mary Tappmeyer. "We really battled and we turned a corner. These types of games are possession games. We have to bounce back and be focused for another tough opponent on Saturday. I'm proud of the fight the girls put up and the direction that this program is going."

Smith scored a game-high 21 points, while Ki Conner added in 14 points and five assists. Paulina Zaveckaite grabbed 12 rebounds.

UNF shot 40.6 percent (26-for-64) for the night.

Amber Porter led the Hatters with 21 points, while Cherisse Burris and CJ Coddington tallied 18 and 15 points, respectively. Burris also had 12 rebounds for the game's only double-double. Jama Sharp dished out 10 assists.

Stetson shot 49.1 percent (28-for-57) for the game and held a 39-33 advantage in rebounds.

It was a high-powered, offensive first half. The Ospreys notched 41 points in the opening half, which was the first time this season they've had a 40-point first half. UNF came out firing 54.5 percent (18-for-33), while Stetson shot 48.4 percent (15-for-31).

UNF came back from being down by seven twice early in the first half. After trailing 20-13 at 14:45, UNF cut the Hatters' lead down to two with a Florin three-pointer at 14:24. A jumper from Coddington and a trey from Sharp allowed Stetson to regain a seven-point advantage and hold a 25-18 lead at 12:19. A layup from Conner at 11:48 sparked a critical 10-0 run as UNF erased the seven-point deficit and went up 28-25 at 10:11.

The Ospreys attempted to build on their lead and went up by five with a Zaveckaite tip in at 7:55 to make it 32-27. Stetson answered with a 7-2 run to tie the game at 34-34 on a Burris jumper at 3:05. After trading jumpers, UNF got a jumper from Chandler Merkerson and a trey from Conner in order to take a 41-36 lead into halftime.

Stetson came out with a 6-0 run to start the second half and take a 42-41 lead at 17:01. A trey from Smith returned the lead to the Ospreys at 15:18. UNF outscored Stetson 7-5 over the next two minutes as the Ospreys went up 51-47 on a Zaveckaite jumper at 13:20.

UNF held several four-point advantages over the next seven minutes, including at 6:27 when Brittney Wright hit two foul shots to make it 64-60. However, a Coddington layup started a costly 8-0 Hatter run that put Stetson up 68-64 with 5:00 to go. Although a layup from Wright at 4:36 made it a two-point game, Stetson outscored UNF 7-1 in the final 3:39. Eight points is the closest Atlantic Sun win for the Hatters, who lead the conference in scoring, thus far.

UNF returns to action on Saturday at A-Sun leader Florida Gulf Coast. Tip is set for 7 p.m., at Alico Arena. The game will air live on ESPN3.