DeLAND, Fla. - Freshman
Hadley Kiefer had a career-night with 19 points, but it was not enough as North Florida women's basketball dropped an 81-61 decision to Stetson on Thursday evening at Edmunds Arena.
The Dublin, Ohio native was a perfect 6-for-6 from long range and now owns the school record for three-point percentage in a single game. Kiefer tied her career-high in points against the Hatters and was one triple shy of matching the UNF single-game record. In addition to Kiefer's double-figure performance, junior
Claire Ioannidis record 17 points with 12 coming from behind the arc.
North Florida was hampered by turnovers as it had 21 miscues with the home team grabbing 28 points off the errors. Stetson also held a 46-18 edge in the paint as Breana Bey scored all of her 18 points inside.
In the first quarter, Stetson hit the opening basket and never looked back. The hosts took an 11-3 lead as UNF found the basket just once, a triple from Ioannidis. A traditional three-point play from
Maiya Rumph and a last-second long ball from Kiefer pulled the Ospreys to within 19-16 to end the opening frame.
North Florida closed the gap to one in the second quarter after a pair of makes from junior
Karrah Johnson, but Stetson held UNF to just one basket in the final four minutes of the frame to take a 33-27 lead into the break.
Despite a low-scoring night for sophomore
Sierra Shepherd, the Jacksonville native dished out six assists and picked up three steals. She was held scoreless in the first half before giving the Ospreys their lone lead of the game, 34-33 with 8:18 to play in the third quarter. Stetson did not stay down for long as the Hatters went on a 10-2 run to take back a lead they never relinquished. The hosts eventually took an 11-point edge into the fourth period.
In the final frame, UNF shot the ball 63 percent from the field and Kiefer scored nine of her team-high 19 points in the final 10 minutes. Stetson's Aisha Turner gave the Hatters their biggest lead of the game with 2:45 to play after forcing a turnover and scoring a fast break basket.
The Ospreys shot a season-high 66 percent from long range, hitting 10-of-15. Ioannidis and Kiefer were the lone UNF players to record three-pointers.
Brianti Saunders scored a game-high 21 points and had five rebounds and four assists with just two turnovers. Breana Bay scored 18 as well as grabbing eight rebounds.
North Florida now travels to Fort Myers to take on first-place Florida Gulf Coast on Saturday at 4 p.m. at Alico Arena. FGCU grabbed a 58-39 against Jacksonville on Thursday to remain undefeated in league action.