TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Sophomore Tiffany Tolbert scored a career-high 20 points in North Florida's 74-53 season-opening loss at Florida State on Friday night in Tallahassee, Fla.

Leaders
UNF
Tolbert paced the Osprey scoring with 20 points, followed by Cheyenne Patrick and Janesha Green with nine and eight points, respectively in their Osprey debut. Arianna Emanuel-Wright grabbed a team-high five rebounds while Ty Purifoy led UNF with four assists.
 
Florida State
Kiah Gillespie led the Seminoles with a double-double (17 points and 13 rebounds). Nicki Ekhomu scored 14 points while Valencia Myers added 10 points and eight rebounds.
 
Inside the 1^st Quarter
Both teams went back-and-forth early as the Ospreys scored on three consecutive possessions to take an 8-7 lead midway through the opening quarter. The Seminoles capped the remaining five minutes with a 17-5 run to take a 24-13 advantage into the second quarter. The Ospreys shot 50 percent from the floor while FSU notched a 62.5 shooting percentage from the floor and forced UNF into five turnovers.
 
Inside the 2^nd Quarter
The Ospreys responded to the early deficit by outscoring FSU 16-13. The Seminoles took a 37-19 lead with 3:24 remaining before the Osprey defense posted a shutout for the remaining three minutes to propel UNF on a 10-0 run. Purifoy and Green connected on layups and Tolbert tallied a layup plus the and-one free throw before knocking down a three pointer in the corner to make the score 37-29 at the break.
 
Inside the 3^rd Quarter
Despite UNF having all of the momentum going into the half, the Seminoles answered with a 23-13 advantage in the third quarter. FSU shot 45 percent from the floor while limiting the Ospreys to 28.6 percent shooting. Tolbert and Emanuel-Wright totaled four points while Patrick added a three-pointer.
 
Inside the 4^th Quarter
The Seminoles clinched the victory by outscoring UNF 14-11 in the final frame. Patrick knocked down a pair of three-pointers while Dasha Eremeeva was a perfect two-for-two from the floor. Emanuel-Wright grabbed three of UNF's six rebounds to lead the Ospreys.
 
Thoughts From the Top
"I really liked the way we battled and competed tonight against a very talented team. We really closed out well in the first half on both sides of the floor, but couldn't sustain it in the third quarter. We will take the lessons learned and get ready to continue our process this season." – head coach Darrick Gibbs
 
Inside the Box Score

• The Seminoles shot 47.7 percent from the floor while UNF shot 37 percent from the floor.
• North Florida was 9-11 from the free throw line, including a perfect 7-7 in the second and third quarters.
• FSU outrebounded the Ospreys 43-23 while the two teams had 13 and 14 turnovers, respectively.
• Eremeeva shot a perfect three-for-three from the floor for a total of six points.
• Five players made their UNF debut tonight, including three players playing in their first collegiate game.
• Seven of the eight Ospreys that saw action tonight appeared in the scoring column.

 
Looking Ahead
The Ospreys open the home portion of their schedule with a pair of games next week. North Florida welcomes Trinity Baptist to UNF Arena on Tuesday, Nov. 13 at 11 a.m. The Ospreys then host Florida A&M on Friday, Nov. 16 at 7 p.m.