PHILADELPHIA, Pa. - North Florida women's basketball (2-7) struggled to score early in its game against Saint Joseph's (7-0), which led to a large deficit that they were unable to overcome in the 84-65 loss on Saturday afternoon.
The Ospreys had three double-digit scorers headlined by
Lyric Swann with 16 points, just two points short of her season-high mark.
Kaila Rougier scored 15 points followed by
Emma Broermann with 14 points, as both players combined for 11 rebounds against St. Joe's.
SJU 84, UNF 65
RECORDS
North Florida | 2-7
Saint Joseph's | 7-0
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
First Half: Swann scored the first five points for the Ospreys with a jumper and three to stay within a possession early...back-to-back buckets from Broermann and Rougier put a halt to the Hawks' run to cut it back to single digits...a late three from
Jayla Adams, plus a layup from
Selma Eklund put the Ospreys down 11 at the end of the first period...defense was strong on both sides of the ball to start the second period with the first field goal from either team coming at the 5:43 mark...Broermann broke the scoreless streak with a layup to make it a 41-20 game...Swann drained a pair of threes in the final three minutes, but UNF was down by 19 at the half.
Second Half: Swann continued her hot streak with a step-back jumper to start the Ospreys off after the break...just moments later, Broermann hit her first shot from deep of the season...UNF closed the period with score-steal-score, all coming from
Alexa Washington...
Kyla Cain made her first impact on the game with a three assisted by Rougier after she scored beforehand...Washington made her first three as well, followed by an and-one bucket by
Sarah Taub...UNF ended the game on a 12-4 run, but it was too late to pull with St. Joe's with a 65-84 final on the road.
LEADERS BY THE NUMBERS
UNF
Lyric Swann | 16 points, 4 rebounds
Kaila Rougier | 15 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists
Emma Broermann | 14 points, 6 rebounds
SJU
Chloe Welch | 19 points, 3 assists, 2 rebounds
Julia Nystrom | 16 points, 4 assists, 2 steals
Mackenzie Smith | 13 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists
COACH'S THOUGHTS
"St. Joe's is a really good ball club with great inside-outside scoring balance. We struggled in the first quarter to guard them. Overall, the two stats that jump off the page were our 16 turnovers and putting them on the free throw line 21 times. Our transition defense has to be more effective and we have to cut down on turnovers to prevent scoring droughts.
We took a lot of good shots today though, and it was nice to see them go in. Lyric [Swann] & Kaila [Rougier] shot well from three. We emphasized paint touches today and Emma [Broermann] made the most of her catches inside."
-- head coach
Erika Lambert
NOTES
- Swann earned her fifth double figure scoring game of the season, as well as her fourth in the last five games.
- Rougier played the most of any UNF player on Saturday with 35 minutes and matched her season-high in assists with three.
- Broermann joined Swann and Rougier with six field goals total and led the team with six boards.
- The fifth-year graduate made her first three-point shot since Mar. 5, 2021, and her seventh career three as an Osprey.
- UNF had the advantage on second chance points with a 14-10 margin.
- Lambert sent out the same lineup in back-to-back games after with Rougier and Swann both being starters.
UP NEXT
North Florida will make the quick turnaround in two days to play at Coppin State on Monday, Dec. 4, in Baltimore, Md.
