Nebraska Hands @OspreyWBB First Loss of 2015-16

Monday, November 16

Lincoln, Neb.

8:00 p.m.

University of North Florida

1-1, 0-0

Nebraska

2-0, 0-0

North Florida

Nebraska

Madekivi surrounded by Cornhusker defenders

11/16/2015 11:38:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

Box Score (PDF)
LINCOLN, Neb. – The North Florida women's basketball team suffered its first loss of the 2015-16 season at the hands of Nebraska, 91-46 on Monday night. The Huskers remained unblemished on the year at 2-0 while the Ospreys fall to 1-1.

Nebraska did not surrender a lead the entire contest and shot a blistering 50 percent from the field. The Huskers dominated on the interior, scored 57 of its 91 points in the paint and grabbed 24 offensive rebounds.

The Ospreys didn't have an answer for freshman forward Jessica Shepard who recorded a double-double with a game-high 27 points and 10 rebounds. In 21 minutes played she was 13-for-16 from the floor and five of her 10 rebounds came on the offensive end. She had 30 points in her collegiate debut on Saturday, a new school record for a freshman.

"Nebraska is a really good team and they did a great job using their size advantage and attacking us in the paint," said Head Coach Darrick Gibbs. "We battled hard througout on the defensive end but their size was just too much for us to overcome."

Both teams got off to a slow start offensively and the Ospreys were within basket with 5:47 remaining in the first quarter. After Osprey timeout at the 3:50 mark, the Huskers took it to the next level. Nebraska closed the first quarter out on a 13-0 run and led by 17 points after the first 10 minutes of play.

Nebraska opened the game up in the second quarter, holding North Florida to just five points, completing a 41-5 run to close the half.

Freshman Hadley Kiefer led a balanced scoring attack with 10 points, including two-three pointers. Kadesia Johnson and Claire Ioannidis each had nine points on the night. Johnson led the Ospreys with a team-high five rebounds and also registered a pair of steals.

North Florida was able to outscore the Huskers, 21-18 in the third quarter thanks to a 7-of-13 performance from the floor. Six different Ospreys scored in the frame, led by Maiya Rumph who was 3-for-4 from the charity stripe as part of her five points in the period.

"I was encouraged by how we responded in the third quarter," added Gibbs. "We executed better offensively and were able to generate some scoring opportunities."

Shepard was one of three players in double figures for the Huskers. Rachel Blackburn and Anya Kalenta chipped in 10 points each.

The announced attendance of the game was 4,475, the largest crowd the North Florida women's basketball team has ever played in front of. It tops a crowd of 4,276 at Pittsburgh in 2009.

The Ospreys will return to Jacksonville and prep for their home opener against Webber International. The annual UNF Kids Swoop Takeover will invade UNF arena with dozens of elementary schools expected to attend. Game time is set for 11:00 a.m. and will be aired live on ESPN3 and the WatchESPN app.