JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A slow offensive start and struggles from behind the arc hindered North Florida women's basketball and Jacksonville hit 13 free throws down the stretch to pull out a 65-51 victory on Saturday evening at Swisher Gymnasium.
 
Despite the loss, the Ospreys finish as the sixth seed in the Atlantic Sun Conference tournament and face with USC Upstate to in the quarterfinals. The sixth-place finish is the best for UNF since the 2012-13 season when it finished sixth with a 7-11 record. Jacksonville finishes in 11-3 in conference play to earn a No. 2 seed.
 
Junior Claire Ioannidis topped the team for the 14th time this season with 19 points. Ioannidis now has 433 points on the season and is now sixth in the UNF single-season record book. She owns 77 three-pointers for the year and needs just three more to own the record.

Sophomores Sierra Shepherd and Maiya Rumph each scored 10. It is Rumph's second double-figure performance of the season and first in conference play. Senior Kadesia Johnson had a game-high seven rebounds and a career-best-tying four steals in her 30 minutes of play.

 Jacksonville shot 63 percent from long range while North Florida women's basketball uncharacteristically struggled from behind the arc, hitting just 3-of-17 on the night. It  The Dolphins recorded just seven baskets in the second half, but hit 16 free throws to put distance between the teams.
 
UNF came out flat in the opening 10 minutes of the game as Jacksonville outscored the Ospreys 19-9. North Florida responded in the second quarter to close the gap to 24-18 on a three-point play from Rumph. It was short lived though as back-to-back baskets from Jacksonville pushed its lead back to 10. UNF then closed out the quarter on 9-2 run to trail by just 30-27 at halftime.
 
The Ospreys stayed close in the third period, whittling the home team's lead down to one, 44-43, on a triple from Ioannidis late in the frame, but it was as close as UNF got for the game. With 30 seconds left in the third, Briona Brown hit a three-pointer to start a 13-3 run that carried into the fourth quarter to give Jacksonville a 60-48 lead. Each team only hit two baskets in the final frame, but JU outscored the Ospreys 13-3 at the stripe to make the difference in the game.

Brown was part of a trio of double-digit scorers with 12 points, while Sherranda Reddick had a game-high 23 points. Brandi Buie also posted 11 points with seven coming from the line. Each Stetson player recorded a board, led by Kayla Gordon and Christin Mercer with six as the Dolphins grabbed 33 to the Ospreys' 26.

Game time for Friday at USC Upstate is yet to be determined and will be announced on UNFOspreys.com.