Boxscore (PDF)
 
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Paulina Zaveckaite had a 23-point, 14-rebound performance and Brittney Wright dished out a career-high tying eight assists in University of North Florida women's basketball's 71-62 loss to Lipscomb on Saturday at UNF Arena.
 
Bailey Florin also added in 12 points for the Ospreys. UNF shot 39.7 percent (25-for-63) from the floor and had a 37-34 advantage in rebounds.
 
Four Lady Bisons had double-digit points with Danay Fothergill leading the team with 25 points. Sara Bliss tallied 14 points, while Ashley Southern and Chandler Cooper had 12 and 10 points, respectively. Fothergill also led Lipscomb with nine rebounds.
 
Lipscomb shot 46.9 percent (23-for-49) from the floor, including 40.7 percent (11-for-27) from long range. The Lady Bisons also connect on 14-of-18 free throws, shooing 77.8 percent from the line.
 
"Our defensive effort was really disappointing," said head coach Mary Tappmeyer. "We spoke to the team about how defensive transition was going to be huge in this game. Our offensive execution was not bad at all; it was totally about the defensive end of the floor. Defense is all about communication, discipline, heart and pride."
 
UNF led by as many as seven in the first half, going up 17-10 on a Florin layup at 11:16. Lipscomb answered with a 12-0 run to take a 22-17 lead on a Fothergill trey at 8:09. Although UNF got to within one, another Lipscomb run, this time a 9-3 spurt, provided the Lady Bisons with a 31-24 lead with 46 seconds left in the half. A Zaveckaite layup at 29 seconds pulled UNF to within five as the Ospreys trailed 31-26 heading into halftime.
 
Lipscomb opened the second half with an 8-2 run in order to go up 39-28 at 16:29. UNF fought back and brought the deficit down to four on four different occasions, including at 11:22 when Zaveckaite made a layup off a Wright pass. Lipscomb gradually pulled away and regained a double-digit lead at 3:15 with a Bliss trey that made it 67-57. UNF came to within seven on a Smith three-pointer at 2:19, but two Southern free throws at 1:57 were the final points of the game.
 
UNF returns to action on Thursday at Kennesaw State. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.