JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - North Florida women's basketball continues its stretch at home with a midday battle against Liberty on Thursday, Jan. 12, at 11 a.m., followed by a rematch against Queens on Saturday, Jan. 14, at 2 p.m.

Both Thursday and Saturday's conference matchups will be broadcasted on ESPN+. Updates for each game will be made through live stats, as well as on Twitter at OspreyWBB.

FROM THE JUMP

• This will be the Ospreys' only matchup against Liberty this season, while it will be the second time in less than two weeks facing Queens.
• First time playing an ASUN team twice in that span since playing Bellarmine on back-to-back days in March 2021.
• UNF played in its closest decision on the year last Saturday against Lipscomb.
• They nearly pulled off the comeback at home after bringing a deficit of 21 points to a one-score game.
• Suffered their first loss at home to the Flames in program history last season.
• Will look to defeat the Royals in the first two meetings against them since they've made the jump from D-II to the ASUN.
• This is one of two home stretches that span over three games, as the second will be from Jan. 28 to Feb. 4.
• Matchup against Liberty will be first and only game of the season that will be tipping off before noon.
• Emma Broermann is coming off a 22-point, 15-rebound performance against Lipscomb from this past weekend.
• She also has scored 38 points and 22 rebounds in her past two games, shooting 17-for-27 from the field and bringing her season average up to 9.9 PPG and 7.4 RPG.
• Lyric Swann, who is the leading scorer at 15.2 PPG, played her fourth-career game where she was on the court for all 40 minutes.
• Kaila Rougier has scored double figures in her past three games, while also bringing down six rebounds in each of her past two games.
• Elysa Wesolek has made the most of her opportunity in the starting lineup averaging 11.3 PPG in the past three games she's started.
• Sarah Taub had a career-high 12 boards against Queens and will look to repeat that in the rematch on Saturday.
• The Ospreys have used the same starting lineup in each of their first three games to start ASUN play.

SCOUTING REPORT

Liberty: The Flames enter this game with an 8-6 overall record and two wins in ASUN play...both wins came at home with victories against Central Arkansas and Jacksonville...they have also played two Power Five teams this season, including a 12-point win against Washington on the road...Liberty was picked second in the ASUN Preseason Coaches' Poll, only behind FGCU who had 13 first-place votes...Mya Berkman and Dee Brown are impact players for the Flames that were selected to the Preseason All-Conference Team...Berkman leads the team in scoring with 14.6 PPG, as she is the only player to average double figures...she also is the leading rebounder with 8.0 RPG with no other player averaging more than 4.6 RPG...Brown has been playing the most minutes thus far, while Emma Hess has drained the most three-pointers with 26 total...Kennedi Williams and Jordan Bailey round out the usual starting lineup for the Flames.

Queens: The Royals will take their trip to Jacksonville with a 5-9 overall record, as they play JU on Thursday and UNF for a second time this season on Saturday...in the Ospreys' first matchup against the Queens, four players scored double-digit points in their first conference win on the year, 79-62...they have yet to win their first game against an ASUN opponent in their debut season with the conference after losses to UNF, Austin Peay and Jacksonville State...Adia Brisker holds the top scoring average for the Royals at 11.3 PPG with Kasey Kidwell not too far behind at 10.2 PPG...Kidwell also leads in assists with 2.1 APG and minutes played with 30.2 MPG...Jordyn Weaver is the top player on the boards for the Royals with 7.0 RPG and has the best shooting percentage with a .516 FG%...they also have four players that average more than one steal per game, including Brisker with 1.9 SPG.

AN OSPREY WIN AGAINST LIBERTY WOULD...

• Be the first home conference win of the season.
• Give UNF two victories in their last three games.
• First win against the Flames since the 2020-21 season.
• Extend UNF's home record against them to 5-1.

AN OSPREY WIN AGAINST QUEENS WOULD...

• Be two wins against the Royals in a span of nine days.
• End three-game home stand with a victory before three-game road stint.
• First ASUN season sweep of a team since Bellarmine to close the 2020-21 season.

PROJECTED UNF STARTING FIVE (BASED ON LAST GAME)

G - Sarah Taub (3.6 PPG, 4.4 RPG, 1.9 APG)
G - Kaila Rougier (7.4 PPG, 4.3 RPG, 2.9 APG)
F - Elysa Wesolek (7.2 PPG, 3.3 RPG, 0.6 APG)
G - Lyric Swann (15.2 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 2.6 APG)
F - Emma Broermann (9.9 PPG, 7.4 RPG, 1.0 APG)

LAST TIME VS. LIBERTY

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - North Florida women's basketball (11-14, 4-9 ASUN) came into Thursday's game 4-0 in home contests against Liberty (24-2, 12-1 ASUN), but tonight the visiting Flames broke the Ospreys' streak in a 56-38 loss to LU Thursday, Feb. 17.

LAST 5 vs. THE FLAMES
Date    Result    Location
2/17/22    L, 38-56    Jacksonville, Fla.
1/12/22    L, 50-61    Lynchburg, Va.
3/12/21    L, 52-65    Kennesaw, Ga.
2/7/21    W, 68-67    Jacksonville, Fla.
2/6/21    W, 85-80    Jacksonville, Fla.

LAST TIME VS. QUEENS

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - After having four players score 13 or more points, North Florida women's basketball (4-8, 1-1 ASUN) brought home its first conference win of the season against Queens (5-8, 0-2 ASUN), 79-62, in their first-ever ASUN meeting on Thursday evening.

LAST 5 vs. THE ROYALS
Date    Result    Location
1/05/23    W, 79-62    Charlotte, N.C.

LOOKING AHEAD

UNF travels up to Kentucky to take on two more conference opponents with Bellarmine on Thursday, Jan. 19, and Eastern Kentucky on Saturday, Jan. 21.

 

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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.