From the Jump

Monday, January 2

DeLand, Fla.

5 p.m.

University of North Florida

Stetson

From the Jump - Women's Basketball Starts Conference Play at Stetson

1/1/2023 12:00:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Game Notes Stream Live Stats

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - North Florida women's basketball starts the new calendar year with the ASUN opener in DeLand, Fla., to face Stetson on Monday, Jan. 2, with tip-off set at 5 p.m.

Monday's game will be broadcasted on ESPN+ with updates made through live stats, as well as on Twitter at OspreyWBB.

This will also be UNF's first game back since playing at Alabama on Thursday, Dec. 22, which is the longest break between games this season.
Back-to-back years opening conference play on the road, as well as first time playing Stetson to open ASUN competition since the 2020-21 season.
Will be one of two ASUN road games, as the Ospreys head up to Charlotte to play newcomer Queens just three days later.
Only conference matchup this season that will be played on a Monday, along with it being their first game played on that day of the week since the season-opening win against Warner.
Lyric Swann leads UNF averaging 16.0 points per game and 2.6 assists per game.
She has scored double-digit points in nine of 10 games, while also playing at least 32 minutes in eight games.
Emma Broermann leads the team in rebounds with 7.0 RPG, along with averaging 8.8 PPG right behind L. Swann.
L. Swann and Broermann are the only two players to start all 10 games for the Ospreys heading into conference play.
Jaelyn Swann and Kaila Rougier have been strong options as well with eight starts each while averaging a combined 13.4 PPG.

SCOUTING REPORT

Stetson enters this matchup with a 6-7 record, as it will also will be playing their first ASUN game of the season.
The Hatters played against two Power Five teams, but lost to both Miami and Florida State on the road.
This will be their first game in two weeks after competing in the Hatter Classic from Dec. 18-19.
Stetson lost to Akron, but defeated Winthrop in their 35th annual home tournament.
Stetson is coming off a 20-12 campaign for the 2021-22 season that ended in the ASUN semifinals against #20 FGCU.
Jaelyn Talley is one of three players on the team to average double-digit scoring figures with 11.5 PPG.
She is also one of two players to be averaging over five rebounds per game.
Kiya Turner is another impact player for the Hatters leading in playing time with 29.9 MPG, while also averaging team-highs in rebounds (5.7), assists (2.8) and steals (2.2) per game.
Turner joins Talley as the only two players to start all 13 games played, as no other Hatter has more than eight starts.

AN OSPREY WIN ON MONDAY WOULD...

- Be first win against Stetson since Jan. 2, 2021
- Give UNF its first road win against Stetson since the 2020 season
- Break a current two-game losing streak exiting non-conference play

PROJECTED UNF STARTING FIVE (BASED ON LAST GAME)

G - Helena Rafnsdottir (1.9 PPG, 3.3 RPG, 1.2 APG)
G - Kaila Rougier (5.6 PPG, 4.1 RPG, 2.3 APG)
G - Lyric Swann (16.0 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 2.6 APG)
G - Jaelyn Swann (7.8 PPG, 4.3 RPG, 1.2 APG)
F - Emma Broermann (8.8 PPG, 7.0 RPG, 1.1 APG)

LAST TIME VS. STETSON

DeLAND, Fla. - North Florida women's basketball led early, was tied with Stetson heading into the fourth and had the advantage with only six minutes to go, but a streaking Hatters (18-11, 11-5 ASUN) team held off the Ospreys (12-16, 5-11 ASUN) down the stretch in a 59-47 loss in the regular season finale.

LAST 5 vs. THE HATTERS
Date Result Location
2/26/22 L, 47-59 DeLand, Fla.
1/8/22 L, 62-73 Jacksonville, Fla.
1/3/21 L, 76-78 Jacksonville, Fla.
1/2/21 W, 90-73 Jacksonville, Fla.
3/2/20 W, 62-60 DeLand, Fla.

LOOKING AHEAD

UNF will continue its road stint to start conference play three days later, as they make the trip up the Charlotte to take on ASUN newcomer, Queens, on Thursday, Jan. 5, at 6 p.m.

OTHER SEASON NOTES

TEN
The Ospreys will man an 10-player roster throughout the 2022-23 season, which is the lowest it has been under head coach Darrick Gibbs.

NEWBIES
The Ospreys have plenty of new faces to go around with six transfers and three freshmen bringing their talents to Jacksonville, Fla.

Elysa Wesolek (South Carolina), Brianna Livingston (Monmouth), Selma Eklund (UNC-Wilmington) come directly from D-I programs, while Lyric Swann (CCBC Essex) and Jaelyn Swann (CCBC Essex) are additions from NJCCAinstitutions. The Swann sisters do have experience playing at the D-I level, as they previously played for UMBC before transferring to CCBC Essex.

UNF brings in three freshmen after only have one on the roster this past season (Kaila Rougier). Maddie Millar, the only in-state product on the team, and Sarah Taub are guards with stellar shooting abilities. Helena Rafnsdottir also joins as a freshman after playing for her club team in Iceland since she was five years old, as well as the Icelandic Women's National Team.

Assistant coach Myron Brown and director of operations Adrienne Jackson are also welcomed as a newcomers to the squad. Brown joins the Ospreys' coaching staff after being the head women's basketball coach for Thomas University since 2017. Jackson returns to UNF after playing under Darrick Gibbs from 2016-2020.

TWIN TIES
Lyric and Jaelyn Swann both transfer in from CCBC Essex in Maryland to join the Osprey roster. They are one of 15 sets of twins playing for the same Division I women's basketball team this season.

This is also the second consecutive year that UNF will sport a set of sisters on the squad, as Jazz and Jaida Bond both played for the Ospreys this past year.

INTERNATIONAL FACES
Helena Rafnsdottir (Iceland), Selma Eklund (Sweden) and Brianna Livingston (Canada) all join the Ospreys this season representing three different countries. Rafnsdottir and Eklund both have experience playing for the national teams of their respective countries.

It's the third straight season rostering three or more international players, while it also being the first time since 2014-15 that three or more players come from unique countries outside the United States.

INTERNATIONAL PLACES
UNF will make the trip out the Dublin, Ireland, to compete in the MAAC-ASUN Dublin Challenge, joining Eastern Kentucky as the fellow ASUN member playing against MAAC foes.

They are scheduled to compete against Rider on Friday, Nov. 18, at 2:30 p.m. EST, followed by a matchup against Marist the next day on Saturday, Nov. 19, at 9:30 a.m. EST.

SUNSHINE STATE
UNF plays 17 of their 29 games this season inside the state of Florida, including 13 of the 17 matchups played at UNFArena.

It will also be the first time since the 2014-2015 season that the Ospreys will open the season with two games inside their home arena.

ROAD RUNNERS
The Ospreys will visit six different states in their travel schedule on the year, along with their pair of games overseas in Dublin, Ireland.

UNF will visit Wisconsin, Ireland and Alabama before Christmas break, and will return with trips to North Carolina, Kentucky, Tennessee and Arkansas.

Out of this year's road slate, the Ospreys will play against four Power Five opponents in Wisconsin, Miami (FL), Auburn and Alabama.

BROERMANN TIME
Emma Broermann leads this team as the unquestioned leader heading into the 2021-22 season. She enters he senior season as the only player on the team with more than one year of experience playing for UNF.

Last season, she was the only player on the team to start all 30 games played. The Okeana, Ohio, native also had the second-best field goal percentage (.602) and the ninth-most blocks (25) in the conference.

Broermann enters her senior season with the Ospreys sitting in the top spot for field goal percentage (.550), as well as the 10th-most blocks (37), in D-I program history.