Boxscore (PDF)
 
WILMINGTON, N.C. – University of North Florida women's basketball's consistency on both ends of the court powered the Ospreys to a 62-45 victory over Eastern Kentucky to conclude play at the UNCW Hampton Inn Thanksgiving Classic on Saturday at Trask Coliseum. UNF was the only team to go through the classic undefeated, posting a 2-0 record.
 
"I'm really proud of how they battled today," said head coach Mary Tappmeyer. "It was a very physical game and I'm of this team's grit. We learned a lot about ourselves this weekend and played two great games defensively.  Both Destinee and Bailey were solid last two days. Paulina did great on the boards and Amber contributed extremely well on both ends of the floor."
 
Destinee Smith paced the Ospreys with 19 points and five assists, while Bailey Florin added in 15 points. The pair combined for seven of UNF's nine three-pointers.
 
Paulina Zaveckaite pulled down 13 rebounds, including 10 that were defensive. Amber Robinson recorded nine points, eight rebounds and four blocks.
 
UNF shot 39.2 percent (20-for-51) from the floor, including 50.0 percent (9-for-18) from three-point range. The Ospreys also out-rebounded Eastern Kentucky 42-38.
 
Shelly Harper led the Colonels with a 10-point, 13-rebound double-double. Michaela Hunter also tallied 10 points.
 
Eastern Kentucky was 17-for-60, shooting 28.3 percent.
 
UNF came out firing in the first half, getting 18 of its first 20 points from three-pointers. The Ospreys took a 20-7 lead on a Lindsey Levings' trey at 12:06. A three-point play from Kadesia Johnson pushed the Ospreys' lead to 16 as she made a layup, drew a foul and converted on the free throw at 10:10 to make it 23-7.
 
Eastern Kentucky cut into the Ospreys' lead. With UNF up 30-19, a 7-2 run brought the Colonels to within six as UNF held a 32-26 lead. A pair of jumpers from Amber Robinson in the final 1:12 allowed UNF to regain a double-digit lead as the Ospreys carried a 36-26 lead into halftime.
 
The Ospreys began the second half on a 9-2 run that allowed them to pull away from Eastern Kentucky. A layup from Smith at 16:14 put UNF up 45-28. UNF further pushed its lead to 19 points as Sierra Shepherd drained a three at 11:38 to make it 51-32. Eastern Kentucky when on six-point run to trim UNF's lead down to 13 with 7:38 to go. UNF answered with an 8-0 spurt, which included six made free throws, to go up 59-38 with 3:50 remaining. The Ospreys had two more with at least 20 points, including at 1:02 on a Robinson jumper that made it 62-42.
 
UNF is back on the action on Tuesday with a game at UCF. Tip is set for 4:30 p.m., at CFE Arena.