Ospreys Overcome Second Half Deficit Before Falling in OT

Saturday, January 5

Jacksonville, Fla.

1:00 p.m.

University of North Florida

7-8, 0-1ASUN

North Alabama

13-2, 1-0ASUN

Team	1	2	3	4	OT 1	F
North Ala.	19	12	17	10	12	70
North Florida	19	9	16	14	6	64

Photo by: Campus Connection 838

1/5/2019 8:02:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The North Florida women's basketball team battled back from a 10-point deficit in the third quarter, but that wasn't quite enough as the Ospreys fell 70-64 in overtime against North Alabama in the ASUN opener on Saturday afternoon at UNF Arena.

The Ospreys fall to 5-7 (0-1 ASUN) on the season while the Lions are 10-1 (1-0 ASUN) in their first season of Division I basketball.

Leaders
UNF
Arianna Emanuel-Wright: 15 points, 9 rebounds, 2 steals
Janesha Green: 14 points, 6 rebounds

UNA
Brittany Panetti: 28 points, 13 rebounds, 2 blocks, 2 steals

Inside the First Half
The Ospreys began the game hitting on all cylinders as UNF scored on five straight possessions to take a 19-5 lead with 3:54 left in the opening quarter. An 18-0 run for North Alabama allowed the Lions to register a 23-19 advantage early in the second quarter.

The teams went back-and-forth in the final eight minutes as UNA held a 31-28 lead at halftime. After shooting 60 percent from the field in the first quarter, the Ospreys cooled down to a 28.6 shooting percentage in the second quarter.

Inside the Second Half
North Alabama opened the second half with seven straight points to take a 10 point lead early in the quarter. UNF cut the deficit down to three after Ty Purifoy hit Green in stride for a fast break layup with two minutes remaining in the third quarter.

Purifoy connected on a trey with 4:06 left in regulation to give North Florida a 54-53 lead before UNA answered with a triple of their own. A pair of Green free throws propelled UNF to a two-point lead with 1:57 left, but the Lions scored a basket with 33 seconds remaining to send it into overtime.

The Lions held the advantage in the overtime period as the Ospreys were never able to capture the lead after a Purifoy jumper tied the game with 2:39 left. UNA capped the game with a 7-2 rally to clinch the 70-64 overtime victory.

Thoughts From the Top
"We battled against a really good team this afternoon. Unfortunately, they made a few more plays than we did. That was a tough loss, but we have a huge road trip coming up, and we have to shift our focus on getting ready for Lipscomb." – head coach Darrick Gibbs

Osprey Fast Breaks

UNF posted a better shooting performance than the Lions, shooting 38.5 percent from the floor while holding UNA to a 37.5 shooting percentage.
The teams went back-and-forth in the paint as the Ospreys tallied a 45-41 rebounding advantage while the Lions outscored North Florida 34-32 in the paint.
Emanuel-Wright fell one rebound short of her third double-double of the season, tallying 15 points and nine rebounds.
Purifoy filled the stat sheet, recording 10 points, six assists, five rebounds and five steals.
Green scored 14 of UNF's 19 bench points while shooting a perfect 5-of-5 from the charity stripe.
Today's contest featured seven lead changes and five ties.
Both teams held double digit leads in the game and North Alabama led for 27:48 while the Ospreys had the upper hand in the scoring column for 13:10.

What's Next
The Ospreys hit the road for the first time in ASUN play this season, traveling to Nashville, Tenn. to face Lipscomb on Tuesday, Jan. 8 at 7:30 p.m. (ET).