JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - North Florida women's basketball (5-8) starts its four game home stand, as well as its last game before the holiday break, with a victory against Winthrop (6-6), 55-49, on Wednesday afternoon in UNF Arena.

The Ospreys jumped out to an early lead in the first half and never let go to secure its first win against a D-I opponent at home this season. The defense shined in its matchup against the Eagles with its fourth game holding an opponent to under 51 points, as this was also the third at home.

Jayla Adams and Kaila Rougier finished with almost identical stat lines with 13 points, four rebounds and two assists each, while Rougier picked up three steals as well. Lyric Swann joined as the third UNF player in double figures to help lead the team to 36 combined points of the 55 scored against Winthrop.

UNF 55, WIN 49

RECORDS

North Florida | 5-8
Winthrop | 6-6

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

First Half: After starting the first two minutes without a score from either side, Rougier cashed in first to go up two early...Adams responded as well with a made three and layup combo to go into the first media timeout without allowing a point to the Eagles...after they scored their first points, Alexa Washington hit a corner three to get and later made a pair of free throws to go up by double digits...Emma Broermann started the second with back-to-back layups...later on, Adams nailed another long shot from range followed with a bucket from Broermann...with 17 seconds remaining in the half, Helena Rafnsdottir dished it to Selma Eklund to take a 28-19 lead into the break.

Second Half: A three-point make from Swann and an and-one from Rougier expanded the lead to 12 points coming out of the half...Rougier continued her scoring tear in the third period with a three, layup and two free throws to keep the Eagles' deficit at double digits...Eklund finished the quarter once again with a layup to keep the margin the same...Swann earned a score and three to keep the Ospreys' offense humming in the fourth...after multiple defensive stops, as well as a pair of clutch scores from Adams, UNF hung on to take the home win, 55-49.

LEADERS BY THE NUMBERS

UNF
Kaila Rougier | 13 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals
Jayla Adams | 13 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists
Lyric Swann | 10 points

WIN
Ronaltha Marc | 17 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists
Blessing Okoh | 11 points, 6 rebounds
Jada Ryce | 10 points, 4 rebounds

COACH'S THOUGHTS

NOTES

• On top of their 26 combined points, Adams and Rougier reached played over 34 minutes.
• Eklund and Broermann played balanced games on both sides of the ball with 14 points and 11 rebounds combined for the bigs.
• Ospreys moved to 4-1 at home on the season, as they picked up its first win at home against a D-I opponent.
• Also moved to 2-0 against Winthrop all time after earning a win against them for the first time since 2005.
• First of four home games over the next couple weeks with Florida A&M, Stetson and Florida Gulf Coast on deck.

UP NEXT

North Florida returns from the holiday break when it takes on Florida A&M on Friday, Dec. 29, with tip-off set for 7 p.m., at UNF Arena.