JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The North Florida women's basketball team will play in its annual elementary school day on Thursday morning when they play host to Webber International at 11:00 a.m. The Ospreys will be inside UNF Arena for the first time in 2015-16.
UNF Kids Swoop Takeover: UNF Arena will house over 20 Jacksonville area elementary schools on Thursday morning which traditionally brings one of the biggest and loudest crowds of the season.
Freshmen Impact: First-year guard
Hadley Kiefer led all North Florida scorers on Monday night with 10 points including two, three-pointers. The sharp-shooting guard has played in 72 of the Ospreys 80 game minutes this season. She is tied for the team-lead with four three-points made. Classmate
Katie Meckus is the team's leading rebounder in her first season with the team. She hauled in a team-high of six against UMKC on Friday.
Third Quarter Success: After a blistering first half by Nebraska on Monday night, the Ospreys settled in and outscored the Huskers 21-18 in the third quarter. They were 7-of-13 from the floor and went 3-of-6 from beyond the arc. In the frame, six players contributed with
Maiya Rumph putting in a quarter-high five points.
Ioannidis Player of the Week: Junior-transfer
Claire Ioannidis made a splash in the Atlantic Sun in her first week of competition by being named the league's co-Player of the Week and Newcomer of the week. She set a new school D-1 era single game record with 29 points at UMKC on Friday afternoon. She was a perfect 12-for-12 from the free throw line in the contest, one shy of tying the school's single game mark for makes without a miss.
All-Time Series: Thursday is only the third meeting between Webber and North Florida with the last meeting coming way back in 1999. The Ospreys were victorious in both contest and the Ospreys cruised to a 86-44 win on Nov.27, 1999.
Packed House: In Monday night's loss to Nebraska in Lincoln, the Ospreys played in front of 4,445 fans, the largest road crowd in the history of the program. The attendance mark eclipsed a crowd of 4,276 at Pittsburgh in 2009.
About Webber: The Warriors come into Thursday's contest with a record of 2-1. Their first victory of the season came two weeks ago when they toppled Madonna (Mich.), 82-62. They were picked to finish third in The Sun Conference preseason coaches poll after a 22-7 campaign last season. The Warriors reached The Sun Conference Championship game last season but fell 65-56 to St. Thomas. Webber is led by Deslyn Applewhaite who is averaging 12 ppg and erupted for 22 in the team's win against Madonna. Mar'Lisa Braxton and Quanthavia Stalworth are also averaging in double figures in three games played.
