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University of North Florida Athletics

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From the Jump - Women's Basketball Travels for Conference Battles in Kentucky

1/18/2023 12:00:00 PM

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - North Florida women's basketball gets back on the road with back-to-back conference matchups starting with Bellarmine on Thursday, Jan. 19, at 6:30 p.m., followed with another game in the Bluegrass State against Eastern Kentucky on Saturday, Jan. 21, 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

  • Coming off a split home weekend where they defeated Liberty but dropped rematch against Queens.
  • Second pair of road games played in the same state, as they've played in Alabama twice earlier this season.
  • UNF holds undefeated records against both Bellarmine and Eastern Kentucky since they've joined the ASUN.
  • First and only matchup against Bellarmine this year, while this will be the first of two games against EKU with the second occurring in the home regular season finale.
  • Have held all five ASUN opponents thus far at 70 points or lower on the year.
  • Played best defensive conference game against Liberty by holding them to 58 points.
  • Will be first time facing off against former Osprey Marissa Mackins since transferring to the Colonels.
  • Elysa Wesolek and Maddie Millar made five three-pointers against Liberty, while Jaelyn Swann accomplished the feat against Queens.
  • Both Wesolek and Millar set career-high scoring totals in the win against the Flames combining for 39 total points.
  • J. Swann was the only player to score double-digits in both games this past weekend.
  • The Ospreys also had three players score double-digit points for a fourth consecutive game.
  • In both games against the Flames and the Royals, UNF was down to seven active players due to injuries on the 10-player roster.
  • Kaila Rougier has been great all-around in ASUN play averaging 11.4 PPG, 5.4 APG and 4.6 RPG.
  • Emma Broermann now remains the only player this year to start in all 15 games, while Helena Rafnsdottir, Sarah Taub and J. Swann join her with 15 appearances this season.


SCOUTING REPORT

Bellarmine: The Knights sit at a 5-13 overall record with only one win through five games of conference play that came just this past weekend at home to Eastern Kentucky...win in rematch against EKU broke a seven-game losing streak that dated back to Dec. 12 against Franklin College...they have played against three Power Five opponents, including a ranked matchup against No. 16 LSU in their second game of the season...hold a 4-4 record at home, but are winless on the road...have a pair of double-digit scorers with Gracie Merkle leading the way at 15.0 PPG...she also is the top rebounder with 10.4 RPG and averages the most blocks with 2.6 per game...plays very efficient with a .725 FG% with the second-most attempts on the team...Hayley Harrison and Claire Knies lead the team in minutes played and are the only two to start all 18 games...Harrison leads the Knights in steals with 1.5 per game, while Knies leads in assists with 2.4 per game.

Eastern Kentucky: The Colonels hold a 10-8 overall record while going 3-2 in the conference thus far...they started ASUN play with back-to-back wins against Kennesaw State and Stetson, but have gone 1-2 in their last three with losses to Central Arkansas and Bellarmine...EKU joined UNF earlier this season as a part of the MAAC-ASUN Dublin Basketball Challenge in Ireland...played against two Power Five teams, including No. 23 Tennessee on the road...have plenty of scoring options to choose from with three players averaging over 12 points per game, including Antwainette Walker leading the way with 21.5 PPG...she also leads the team with 9.9 RPG and 2.8 SPG...Marissa Mackins and Danielle Rainey average 15.5 PPG and 12.4 PPG respectively...Alice Recanati holds the edge on assists with 5.2 per game...she is also the only player to start all 18 games on the year...they also have three players on roster that have made 32 or more threes, including Mackins who has 34 three-pointers in 10 games played.


AN OSPREY WIN AGAINST BELLARMINE WOULD...

- Give UNF a 4-0 record against the Knights.
- Also keep an undefeated road record against BU.
- Be back-to-back road wins dating back to the victory at Queens.
- Be third consecutive Thursday win since the start of ASUN play.


AN OSPREY WIN AGAINST EASTERN KENTUCKY WOULD...

- Give them back-to-back wins against the Colonels since they've joined the ASUN.
- Make both conference victories against EKU in program history on the road.
- Be first Saturday win against an ASUN team this season.


PROJECTED UNF STARTING FIVE (BASED ON LAST GAME)

G - Sarah Taub (4.1 PPG, 4.3 RPG, 1.9 APG)
G - Helena Rafnsdottir (3.0 PPG, 4.0 RPG, 1.0 APG)
G - Kaila Rougier (7.8 PPG, 4.3 RPG, 3.5 APG)
F - Elysa Wesolek (7.9 PPG, 3.4 RPG, 0.5 APG)
F - Emma Broermann (9.1 PPG, 7.0 RPG, 0.9 APG)


LAST TIME VS. BELLARMINE

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Four Ospreys reached double-digit points, UNF outscored Bellarmine by 24 in bench points and the Bond sisters each had milestone mornings as North Florida women's basketball (11-12, 4-7 ASUN) dispatched Bellarmine (3-19, 0-11 ASUN), 85-63, Wednesday, Feb. 9.

LAST 5 vs. THE KNIGHTS
Date    Result    Location
2/9/22    W, 85-63    Jacksonville, Fla.
3/6/21    W, 77-49    Louisville, Ky.
3/5/21    W, 76-73    Louisville, Ky.


LAST TIME VS. EASTERN KENTUCKY

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.

LAST 5 vs. THE COLONELS
Date    Result    Location
1/22/22    W, 78-64    Richmond, Ky.
11/29/14    W, 62-45    Wilmington, N.C.


LOOKING AHEAD

UNF will play its third straight road game against Jacksonville on Thursday, Jan. 26, and will find themselves with a quick rematch against the Dolphins just two days later on Saturday, Jan. 28.

 


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.
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