Second Quarter Sinks @OspreyWBB against UNCW

Tuesday, December 29

Jacksonville, Fla.

3:00 p.m.

University of North Florida

4-10

UNC Wilmington

4-6

UNC Wilmington

North Florida

Photo by: Todd Drexler

12/29/2015 5:26:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

Shepherd chips in game-high 18 points

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - North Florida women's basketball struggled from opening tip and were outscored 20-7 in the second quarter as visiting UNCW took home a 63-47 victory on Tuesday afternoon at UNF Arena.

Sophomore Sierra Shepherd lit up the stat sheet with a game-high 18 points to go along with eight rebounds and career-highs in assists (6) and steals (6). She shot 8-for-13 from the floor and made one of UNF's five long balls. Junior Claire Ioannidis added 15 points and had a team-best three triples.

"They did a great job early on and hit a few jumpers, mid-range stuff, which we weathered, but they did a good job disrupting us on the offensive end," said head coach Darrick Gibbs. "They did not allow us to get to our second and third options which is something we have stressed a lot over the last few weeks. Defensively we can be better. We are missing Kadesia Johnson, who leads our team with eight rebounds per game, which is leaving a hole and it is something that we have to continue to work on."

UNCW pulled down 35 rebounds including 12 offensive, leading to 15 second-chance points. The Ospreys also had 12 offensive boards, but only put back five total points.

It was the visitors game from the start as the Seahawks opened the scoring and never looked back. UNCW held the hosts without a point for more than two minutes eventually a layup from Karrah Johnson at 4:40 in the first closed the gap to 12-10, but it was as close as UNF would get for the day.

In the second quarter, UNCW shot 8-for-13 from the field, while limiting the Ospreys to just two makes and a free throw. They also forced six turnovers and used an inside presence to take a 36-19 lead at the half.

A 7-2 run to open the third period shrunk the lead back to, 38-28, but UNF came up empty on five possessions as the visitors eventually ballooned the lead back to 20 on a three-pointer from Shatia Cole who finished with 16 points.

For the game, UNF shot just 35 percent to the Seahawks' 48 percent clip, which included totals of 61 percent in the second quarter and 58 percent in the third frame.

Cole along with Naqaiyyah Teague had 16 points, while Teague grabbed seven rebounds. Amber Reeves helped on both ends of the floor with seven rebounds and five assists, while also adding nine points.

The Ospreys now turn their attention to Mercer for their final non-conference game of the season. UNF debuts in Macon on Saturday, Jan. 2 at 5 p.m. The game will be broadcast on ESPN3.