Boxscore (PDF)
 
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Destinee Smith became the eighth Osprey to reach the 1,000-career point plateau, but a challenging first half resulted in University of North Florida women's basketball falling 68-55 on Saturday afternoon at UNF Arena.
 
Smith had entered Saturday needing just three points reach 1,000. She surpassed that mark in the first half, connecting on two free throws at 9:55 and then knocking down a three-pointer at 3:56. Smith finished the game with a team-best 12 points and now has 1,009 career points.
 
Paulina Zaveckaite tallied an 11-point, 17-rebound double-double, while Janeá Williams added a 10-point, 11-rebound double-double.
 
UNF shot 30.8 percent (16-for-52) for the game and held a 46-43 advantage in rebounds.
 
Sherranda Reddick led the Dolphins with 30 points, going 9-for-15 from the field and 6-for-8 from long-range. Kayla Gordon added in 11 points, while Kimberly Dawkins grabbed 13 rebounds.
 
Jacksonville shot 34.3 percent (23-for-67) for the game, including 53.1 percent in the first half. The Dophins shot 60.0 percent (6-for-10) from three-point range, going 4-for-5 (80.0 percent) in the opening half.
 
"We're going to have to keep plugging," said head coach Mary Tappmeyer. "This team still has grit, still has this fight about them. We talked at halftime and they could have rolled over or made it a battle in the second half. We won the second half, we just dug ourselves too big of a hole."
 
A slow start saw the Ospreys trail by 11 early as the Dolphins took a 17-6 lead on a Reddick three-pointer at 11:33. Jacksonville pushed its lead to 13 on several occasions before UNF cut the deficit down to 10 multiple times, including at 7:30 on a Zaveckaite free throw. However, Jacksonville went on a 7-2 run to extend its lead to 15, going up 35-20 at 4:56 on another Reddick trey. UNF answered with a 10-2 run in order to cut the deficit down to nine, but Jacksonville finished the half on a 7-0 run to take a 44-28 lead into halftime.
 
UNF came to within 12 of the Dolphins early in the second half. A layup from Sierra Shepherd at 16:15 made it 47-35, but an 8-0 Dolphin run pushed Jacksonville's lead to 20. Three free throws from Reddick at 14:37 provided Jacksonville with the 55-35 advantage. UNF answered with an eight-point run of its own to bring the deficit back down to 12. A Zaveckaite layup at 11:31 capped the run to make it a 55-43 game. However, Jacksonville went on to push its lead to 16 on several occasions, including at 2:54 on a Reddick free throw to put the Dolphins up 66-50. UNF finished the game on a 6-2 run.
 
UNF returns to action on Thursday against USC Upstate at 7 p.m., at UNF Arena. The game will air live on ESPN3 with Brent Martineau and Jessica Blaylock on the call.