Saturday, December 6
Nashville, Tenn.
7:00 p.m.
University of North Florida
4-4
54
at
53
Tennessee State
1-6
1
2
F
North Florida
25
29
54
Tennessee State
22
31
53
Team Stats
UNF
TSU
FG%
.432
.327
3FG%
.455
.263
FT%
.846
.560
RB
37
29
TO
31
17
STL
4
14
Game Leaders
Pts
14
FGM
6
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Pts
10
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
6
Pts
5
FGM
2
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballG/F
/ Women's BasketballF/C
/ Women's Basketball
Smith's Buzzer-Beating Trey Lifts @OspreyWBB to 54-53 Win at Tennessee State
12/6/2014 10:47:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Boxscore (PDF)
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NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Senior Destinee Smith hit a buzzer-beating long three-point shot and head coach Mary Tappmeyer captured her 400th career-victory as University of North Florida women's basketball edged Tennessee State 54-53 Saturday night at the Gentry Center.
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Trailing 53-49 with 5.1 seconds to go, Paulina Zaveckaite hit a pair of free throws to cut the deficit down to two. After Tennessee State turned the ball over on the in-bounds, UNF got the ball back and Smith hit her game-winning three-point shot while fending off two Tennessee State defenders.
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"We played very poorly tonight, but we kept battling," said head coach Mary Tappmeyer. "We've been talking about the game is not over until the final buzzer. I'm just proud of this team's tenacity and what they showed tonight."
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"It was amazing," said Smith. "Words really can't describe making that shot. In our final timeout, Coach said it was all about defending and making a stop and that it was going to come down to execution. She told us to play until the final buzzer."
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Smith led the Ospreys with 14 points, while Zaveckaite and Caitlyn Spane each tallied 10 points. Zaveckaite also pulled down nine rebounds.
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UNF shot 43.2 percent (19-for-44) from the field and out-rebounded the Tigers 37-29.
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Chelsea Hudson led Tennessee State with 14 points. Briana Morrow added in 11 and Jemilah Leonard tallied 10 points. Brianna Lawrence grabbed eight boards.
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Both teams had a slow start to the first half. Tennessee State took an 11-9 lead at 9:38 on a pair of free throws from Chelsea Hudson. However, behind five points from Caitlyn Spane, the Ospreys gained a 14-11 lead at 8:27. UNF and Tennessee State battled over the game's next few points as the Tigers eventually went up 19-16 at 4:37. Briana Morrow scored seven points of the Tigers' eight points during that span. UNF answered with a 9-0 run, going up 25-19 at 1:51 on a Destinee Smith trey. Briana Lawrence hit a three for the Tigers at 1:33 as the Ospreys carried a 25-22 lead into halftime.
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UNF led by as many as five at three different times in the second half. The first two occurrences came within the first two minutes of the half. The final five-point Osprey lead came as Spane knocked down a three-pointer at 11:23 to make it 39-34. Tennessee State responded with a six-point run to go up 40-39 on a Leonard jumper at 9:30. A pair of free throws from Kadesia Johnson and Zaveckaite quickly put the Ospreys up 43-40 with 8:28 remaining.
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Tennessee State continued to chip away at UNF's lead and used a Leonard jumper to go up 50-49 with 3:50 left in the half. A free throw from Rachel Allen and two made foul shots from Jayda Johnson put the Tigers up 53-49 with 15 seconds left. However, the late foul by Tennessee State at 5.1 seconds put Zaveckaite at the line for the two clutch free throws and was the start of the momentum shift towards the Ospreys' advantage.
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After exams next week, UNF returns to action on Saturday, Dec. 13 against Thomas (Ga.) University at UNF Arena. It will be the Ospreys' first home game in over three weeks. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m.
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NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Senior Destinee Smith hit a buzzer-beating long three-point shot and head coach Mary Tappmeyer captured her 400th career-victory as University of North Florida women's basketball edged Tennessee State 54-53 Saturday night at the Gentry Center.
Â
Trailing 53-49 with 5.1 seconds to go, Paulina Zaveckaite hit a pair of free throws to cut the deficit down to two. After Tennessee State turned the ball over on the in-bounds, UNF got the ball back and Smith hit her game-winning three-point shot while fending off two Tennessee State defenders.
Â
"We played very poorly tonight, but we kept battling," said head coach Mary Tappmeyer. "We've been talking about the game is not over until the final buzzer. I'm just proud of this team's tenacity and what they showed tonight."
Â
"It was amazing," said Smith. "Words really can't describe making that shot. In our final timeout, Coach said it was all about defending and making a stop and that it was going to come down to execution. She told us to play until the final buzzer."
Â
Smith led the Ospreys with 14 points, while Zaveckaite and Caitlyn Spane each tallied 10 points. Zaveckaite also pulled down nine rebounds.
Â
UNF shot 43.2 percent (19-for-44) from the field and out-rebounded the Tigers 37-29.
Â
Chelsea Hudson led Tennessee State with 14 points. Briana Morrow added in 11 and Jemilah Leonard tallied 10 points. Brianna Lawrence grabbed eight boards.
Â
Both teams had a slow start to the first half. Tennessee State took an 11-9 lead at 9:38 on a pair of free throws from Chelsea Hudson. However, behind five points from Caitlyn Spane, the Ospreys gained a 14-11 lead at 8:27. UNF and Tennessee State battled over the game's next few points as the Tigers eventually went up 19-16 at 4:37. Briana Morrow scored seven points of the Tigers' eight points during that span. UNF answered with a 9-0 run, going up 25-19 at 1:51 on a Destinee Smith trey. Briana Lawrence hit a three for the Tigers at 1:33 as the Ospreys carried a 25-22 lead into halftime.
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UNF led by as many as five at three different times in the second half. The first two occurrences came within the first two minutes of the half. The final five-point Osprey lead came as Spane knocked down a three-pointer at 11:23 to make it 39-34. Tennessee State responded with a six-point run to go up 40-39 on a Leonard jumper at 9:30. A pair of free throws from Kadesia Johnson and Zaveckaite quickly put the Ospreys up 43-40 with 8:28 remaining.
Â
Tennessee State continued to chip away at UNF's lead and used a Leonard jumper to go up 50-49 with 3:50 left in the half. A free throw from Rachel Allen and two made foul shots from Jayda Johnson put the Tigers up 53-49 with 15 seconds left. However, the late foul by Tennessee State at 5.1 seconds put Zaveckaite at the line for the two clutch free throws and was the start of the momentum shift towards the Ospreys' advantage.
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After exams next week, UNF returns to action on Saturday, Dec. 13 against Thomas (Ga.) University at UNF Arena. It will be the Ospreys' first home game in over three weeks. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m.
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