RICHMOND, Ky. -  The perfect combination of efficient offensive play in the paint and a pesky defense that forced 21 turnovers added up to propel UNF women's basketball (9-9, 2-4 ASUN) to a 78-64 road victory at Eastern Kentucky (10-9, 3-3 ASUN) Saturday, Jan. 22.

North Florida shot 52.9 percent from the floor, notched 12 steals and outscored the Colonels 34-20 in the paint to give the Ospreys their second consecutive victory and first road-conference win of the season.

Despite a few late runs from the hosts, UNF nearly led wire-to-wire, holding the lead for 36 minutes and 52 seconds. Eastern Kentucky only had the advantage for 41 seconds in a game that saw only one tie score and one lead change.

Jazz Bond did it all, scoring a game-high 23 points to go with nine rebounds, two blocks, one assist and one steal in over 32 minutes of play. Emma Broermann scored 17 points on 7-for-8 from the floor, a season-high point total for her against Division I opponents.

Not to be lost in the action was Rhetta Moore who added 13 points, six rebounds and tied a season high with seven assists. Ally Knights put up six assists and four steals directing the offense.

UNF 78, EKU 64

Beyond the Box Score

• First Quarter: Up 8-7, Jazz Bond and Summah Evans hit consecutive three-pointers to double up the score on EKU … Broermann followed with consecutive buckets before Britnay Gore got in on the action with a second chance layup at the 1:09 mark, putting UNF up 20-11 … EKU scored the final four points of the frame … UNF hit four of seven three-pointers in the opening session.
• Second Quarter: UNF matched its game-high nine point advantage up 30-21 thanks to continued strong play by Broermann and Jazz Bond … EKU got hot to finish the quarter, going on a 10-3 run capped by a pair of triples, including a buzzer beater … Jazz Bond led all scorers with nine at the break as the Ospreys went into the half up 34-31.
• Third Quarter: EKU tied it right out of the half with a three-pointer from Bria Bass at the 9:45 mark … that was the only time the game was tied all half as Rhetta Moore broke a tie with a turnaround jumper in the paint … up 42-39 at the 5:22 mark, North Florida took things into another gear to create some separation … Broermann made a jumper in the paint and Jazz Bond drilled a three-pointer to create an eight-point advantage … North Florida went into the fourth up 49-42.
• Fourth Quarter: EKU caused some problems to start the fourth quarter, hitting a three-pointer, making two free throws and following with a layup off a turnover to cut UNF's lead to 51-49 … a key turning point followed when UNF went on a 9-1 run to create a 60-50 lead and post UNF's largest lead of the game up to that point … the Ospreys forced EKU into consecutive 10-second violations, Moore hit four clutch free throws and Jazz Bond hit another key jumper with 1:50 on the clock to close things out.

Leaders By the Numbers
UNF

• Jazz Bond | 23 points, 9 rebounds, 2 blocks, 1 assist, 1 steal
• Emma Broermann | 17 points, 7-for-8 FGs, 6 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 block
• Rhetta Moore | 13 points, 7 assists, 6 rebounds
• Ally Knights | 6 assists, 4 steals

EKU

• Alice Recanati | 16 points, 4 assists
• Emma Hacker | 10 points, 3 steals, 2 blocks
• Bria Bass | 10 points, 5 rebounds

Notes

• North Florida won its first ASUN road game of the season.
• UNF is 2-0 all-time against EKU.
• Jazz Bond notched her sixth 20-plus point performance of the season. 
• Jazz Bond has scored in double figures in 14 of 17 games this year.
• The Ospreys nabbed their third road win of the season.
• North Florida shot above 45 percent in all four quarters.
• Eight different Ospreys scored.
• UNF handed EKU just its third loss at home in 10 games.

Coach Gibbs' Comments
"This was a great team win against a very well coached, long and active team. We had a lot of players make plays at different points in the game, and that helped us get this one.  We're excited to get back-to-back wins and now we have to keep things going as we get ready for our next one!" 

Up Next
UNF returns home to host Central Arkansas Thursday, Jan. 27 at 5 p.m.