JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - North Florida women's basketball continues its home stretch in conference play, as the Ospreys take on Stetson for the second time this season on Thursday, Feb. 2, at 7 p.m., followed by FGCU on Saturday, Feb. 4, at 2 p.m. in UNF Arena.

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. 

Saturday's game marks this year's homecoming game while Thursday's contest with Stetson is sponsored by Performance Orthopedics and Spine.
 

FROM THE JUMP

• Have sights set on first back-to-back wins since Jan. 19-22, 2022, against Kennesaw State and Eastern Kentucky
• Ospreys recently broke four-game losing streak with marquee win against Jacksonville on Saturday
• Three or more players scored double-digit points for the ninth time this year.
• UNF looks to split series against Stetson after suffering loss on the road in ASUN opener.
• Will also be searching for first win against FGCU since the 2017-18 season.
• They look to continue their momentum on offense after scoring 70 or more points for the first time since Jan. 5 against Queens.
• Elysa Wesolek had a remarkable showing against JU with 21 points that came from 4-for-7 shooting from deep.
• In each of the Ospreys last two wins, Wesolek has combined for 41 points, along with five rebounds.
• Lyric Swann keeps scoring points with her fifth consecutive game with double-digit points, as well as scoring in double figures 14 out of 16 games.
• She leads the team in overall scoring average with 14.9 PPG and conference scoring average with 13.0 PPG.
• Maddie Millar is coming off being selected as ASUN Freshman of the Week after hitting four threes in the first half of the JU game to go along with game-clinching free throws.
• She joins the Swann sisters as the three shooters on the team with 25 or more made three-pointers.
• Kaila Rougier, who recently set a career-high in rebounds with 11 against JU, keeps a balanced game with 11.3 PPG, 5.8 RPG and 4.4 APG since the start of ASUN play.

SCOUTING REPORT

Stetson: The Hatters come into UNF Arena with a 9-13 overall record and a 3-6 record in ASUN play...since opening the conference slate with their win over the Ospreys, they have only won two other ASUN games with both being at home...their other wins in conference came against Central Arkansas and Bellarmine...they have also lost five of their last six games and have not won on the road since Dec. 11...this is the start of a three-game road stretch for the Hatters...they have four players averaging 10+ PPG, led by Jamiya Turner with 11.4 PPG...since making her debut on Jan. 5, she has scored double-digit points in all but one game, while also bringing down 3 or more rebounds in as many games...the overall points leader on the team is Jaelyn Talley with 240 total points this season, while Khamya McNeal is just behind her with one point less...McNeal is also one of the best three-pointer shooters on the team with 26 total made threes with a 34.7 3PT%.

FGCU: The Eagles have a stellar 20-3 overall record and 8-1 conference record...they enter this matchup with a 7-1 record on the road with their only loss being to Liberty in overtime...they are currently ranked outside of the top 25, but are receiving votes in the coaches poll...the preseason ASUN favorites have won by an average of 31.6 points in each of their eight conference wins...they have played three Power Five teams this season with a win on the road against Kentucky by six points...FGCU is led by Preseason ASUN Player of the Year, Tishara Morehouse, who averages a team-high 16.3 PPG, 1.9 SPG and 30.4 MPG...Morehouse also has the most field goal attempts with 292 total, as no other Eagle has more than 220 attempts...Alyza Winston and Sha Carter also average double figures, while Emma List leads the team in assist (4.6) and blocks (0.6) per game...Sophia Stiles joins Carter with over 100 rebounds on the year for FGCU.

AN OSPREY WIN AGAINST STETSON WOULD...

- Split season series, 1-1, against the Hatters.
- Break a four-game losing streak and first win against them since Jan. 2, 2021.
- Give UNF back-to-back wins for the first time this season.
- Boost their record to 5-3 against teams from Florida on the year.

AN OSPREY WIN AGAINST FGCU WOULD...

- Be first win against the Eagles since the 2017-18 season.
- Avenge ASUN tournament loss in the quarterfinals from last season.
- Bring momentum heading into next weekend's pair of road conference games.

PROJECTED UNF STARTING FIVE (BASED ON LAST GAME)

G - Brianna Livingston (6.6 PPG, 1.0 RPG, 0.4 APG)
G - Sarah Taub (4.1 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 2.1 APG)
G - Kaila Rougier (8.6 PPG, 5.0 RPG, 3.4 APG)
G - Lyric Swann (14.9 PPG, 4.2 RPG, 2.4 APG)
F - Emma Broermann (8.6 PPG, 6.6 RPG, 0.8 APG)

LAST TIME VS. STETSON

DELAND, Fla. - North Florida women's basketball (3-8, 0-1 ASUN) had its stretch of runs in the opening and closing quarter, but fell short in between in a loss against Stetson (7-7, 1-0 ASUN), 70-47, to open up conference play on Monday evening.

LAST 5 vs. THE HATTERS
Date    Result    Location
1/2/23    L, 47-70    DeLand, Fla.
2/26/22    L, 47-59    DeLand, Fla.
1/8/22    L, 62-73    Jacksonville, Fla.
1/3/21    L, 76-78    Jacksonville, Fla.
1/2/21    W, 90-73    Jacksonville, Fla.

LAST TIME VS. FGCU

FORT MYERS, Fla. - Sunday's ASUN Championship Quarterfinals contest at No. 22 FGCU (27-2) was a game dictated by offensive runs, and in the end it was the Eagles' 14-0 clip in the third quarter that proved to be the difference as North Florida women's basketball (13-17) bowed out of the postseason with a 71-60 loss March 6.

LAST 5 vs. THE EAGLES
Date    Result    Location
3/6/22    L, 60-71    Fort Myers, Fla.
2/19/22    L, 52-63    Jacksonville, Fla.
1/5/22    L, 57-88    Fort Myers, Fla.
2/28/21    L, 54-66    Fort Myers, Fla.
2/27/21    L, 45-94    Fort Myers, Fla.

LOOKING AHEAD

UNF will leave the state for the first time in almost three weeks to play ASUN road games against both Austin Peay on Thursday, Feb. 9, at 7 p.m. EST, as well as Lipscomb on Saturday, Feb. 11, at 3 p.m. EST.

 

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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.