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University of North Florida Athletics

WBB Queens/Lipscomb preview graphic

From the Jump - Women's Basketball Continues Conference Play Against Queens & Lipscomb

1/4/2023 12:00:00 PM

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - North Florida women's basketball looks to rebound in ASUN play against newcomer Queens on Thursday, Jan. 5, at 6 p.m., followed by the ASUN home opener Saturday, Jan. 7 against Lipscomb.

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


FROM THE JUMP

  • The Ospreys and Queens meet for the first time against Queens in league play
  • This will be the fourth consecutive road game for UNF before hitting a three-game home stand over the next week and a half.
  • The current road trip is the only four-game road trip of the season and the first time it has happened since early last season.
  • Also the first time since 2019-20 that the Ospreys open their first two games of conference play on the road.
  • Their game against Queens will be the first of two games played against them over the next two weeks as well.
  • Defeated Lipscomb both times UNF faced them last season, including a victory on the road in the first round of the ASUN Championship tournament.
  • Lyric Swann remains the leading point scorer with 15.1 PPG to along with her top spot of 2.1 steals per game on the team.
  • Both Kaila Rougier and Elysa Wesolek had double-digit scoring performances against Stetson on Monday, along with career-best scoring nights from freshmen Sarah Taub and Helena Rafnsdottir.
  • Rafnsdottir also had eight rebounds to go along with her nine points against the Hatters.
  • Leading rebounder Emma Broermann with 6.6 RPG joins Swann as the only two to start all 11 games.


SCOUTING REPORT

  • Queens: The Royals hold a 5-7 record to start their season, while they also join the Ospreys as 0-1 in the conference after their home loss to fellow ASUN newcomer Austin Peay on Monday...four of their five wins have come at home with their most recent being against USC Upstate before the holiday break...in their last season as a D-II school, they posted a 6-19 record with only three wins at home on the year...Adia Brisker is the only Royal who averages double-digit scoring figures with 12.1 PPG...she also leads the team in steals with 2.2 SPG, along with the second-best rebounder with 4.8 RPG...Jordyn Weaver is the top board grabber with 6.3 RPG to go along with her 8.2 PPG...Alexandria Johnson joins Brisker and Weaver as the only three to start all 12 games.
  • Lipscomb: After a narrow win to open ASUN play against North Alabama, the Bison are 7-6 overall with that lone conference victory at home...they have played against two Power Five opponents in TCU and Vanderbilt, as well as playing in the Bank of Hawaii Classic earlier this season...they boast an impressive 5-1 record at home, but are only 2-4 in road games on the year...the Bison have plenty of scoring options on their squad with four players averaging nine or more points per game...Aleah Sorrentino leads the pack with 15.6 PPG, as well as 8.5 RPG...Jalyn Holcomb and Bella Vinson also average double-digit points combining for 26.0 PPG...Ainhoa Cea leads the team in assists with 5.3 APG and joins Sorrentino, Holcomb and Vinson as regular starters.


AN OSPREY WIN AGAINST QUEENS WOULD...

  • Secure their first win of the year in ASUN play.
  • Notch first win against Queens in program history.
  • Break a three-game losing streak for UNF.
  • Be the first road win since playing Bethune-Cookman on Dec. 1.


AN OSPREY WIN AGAINST LIPSCOMB WOULD...

  • Give UNF back-to-back wins at home.
  • Be three straight wins over Lipscomb dating back to last season.
  • Secure victories in ASUN home openers for three of the last four seasons.


PROJECTED UNF STARTING FIVE (BASED ON LAST GAME)

G - Sarah Taub (3.7 PPG, 3.7 RPG, 1.8 APG)
G - Kaila Rougier (6.1 PPG, 3.9 RPG, 2.7 APG)
F - Elysa Wesolek (6.2 PPG, 2.8 RPG, 0.6 APG)
G - Lyric Swann (15.1 PPG, 4.6 RPG, 2.4 APG)
F - Emma Broermann (8.3 PPG, 6.6 RPG, 1.1 APG)


LAST TIME VS. QUEENS

This will be the first-ever game played between UNF and Queens in program history.


LAST TIME VS. LIPSCOMB

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - North Florida women's basketball (13-16) never trailed, Jazz Bond set the UNF DI-era points record, Rhetta Moore reeled in 12 boards and the Ospreys put the clamps on Lipscomb (10-20) in a 60-42 ASUN Championship First Round win on the road Wednesday, March 2.


LAST 5 vs. THE BISON

Date    Result    Location
3/2/22    W, 60-42    Nashville, Tenn.
1/29/22    W, 83-75    Jacksonville, Fla.
2/21/21    L, 70-74    Jacksonville, Fla.
2/20/21    W, 74-57    Jacksonville, Fla.
2/22/20    L, 66-73    Jacksonville, Fla.


LOOKING AHEAD

UNF will play another pair of ASUN matchups, as they will host both Liberty on Thursday, Jan. 12, and Queens on Saturday, Jan. 14, at the UNF Arena.

 


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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