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From the Jump - Women's Basketball Takes On North Alabama In Road Finale

2/24/2023 2:00:00 PM

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - North Florida women's basketball heads back on the road for the last time in the regular season to face off in a crucial conference battle against North Alabama on Saturday, Feb. 25, at 6 p.m. ET.

Saturday's conference matchup will be broadcasted on ESPN3. Updates for each game will be made through live stats, as well as on Twitter at OspreyWBB.


FROM THE JUMP

  • Ospreys will be coming off their first win in six games on senior day against Kennesaw State.
  • Jaelyn Swann made seven three-pointers, including six in the first half, in the win against the Owls.
  • Also set a season-high scoring mark with 23 points to go along with her eight rebounds.
  • Lyric Swann joined her sister with 10 points and 11 rebounds for her first double-double as an Osprey.
  • Brianna Livingston has been a scoring machine as of late with a career-high 18 points against Jacksonville State, then surpassing that mark two days later against KSU with 19 points.
  • Emma Broermann is only 21 rebounds away from hitting a career milestone of 500 rebounds at UNF.
  • Kaila Rougier has been a crucial piece in ASUN play, now averaging 10.7 PPG, 5.7 RPG and 3.8 APG.
  • UNF put up the most points in a half this season against the Owls with 56 points, as well as most points in the first and second quarters with 29 and 27 respectively.
  • Only sits one game behind JU for the 10th and final seed in conference postseason play.
  • Will only play UNA this weekend after Central Arkansas canceled the remainder of their season due to lack of eligible players available.


SCOUTING REPORT

  • North Alabama has cumulated a record of 12-14 overall and 7-8 in conference play.
  • Sport an 8-5 record at home with four of those wins against ASUN opponents.
  • Played three Power Five teams this season with matchups against Miss State, Ohio State and Pittsburgh.
  • Only lost to Pitt by two points late in December.
  • Riding a three-game winning streak with victories against Bellarmine, Central Arkansas and Jacksonville.
  • Last loss at home was to Liberty on Saturday, Feb. 11.
  • Three players for the Lions are averaging 10+ PPG on the season.
  • Skyler Gill has been the best all-around player for UNA with 10.7 PPG, 8.0 RPG, 1.9 SPG and 2.7 BPG.
  • Gill is also the only player on their team this year to start in all 26 games this season.
  • Hina Suzuki is also a player to watch out for with 10.5 PPG and 5.3 APG.
  • Jade Moore is the third player to average over 10 PPG, as she has 74 total 3PT made on 40.4% shooting from beyond the arc.


AN OSPREY WIN AGAINST NORTH ALABAMA WOULD...

  • Give UNF back-to-back wins for the first time this season.
  • Be first win on the road since their ASUN road opener at Queens.
  • Extend recent advantage with five wins in their past six games played against the Lions.
  • Put them in contention for the last ASUN Championship tournament spot going into Wednesday's regular season finale.


PROJECTED UNF STARTING FIVE (BASED ON LAST GAME)

G - Brianna Livingston (8.5 PPG, 3.1 RPG, 1.4 APG)
G - Sarah Taub (3.9 PPG, 4.3 RPG, 2.1 APG)
G - Kaila Rougier (9.0 PPG, 5.1 RPG, 3.3 APG)
G - Lyric Swann (14.4 PPG, 4.1 RPG, 2.5 APG)
F - Emma Broermann (8.0 PPG, 6.6 RPG, 0.8 APG)


LAST TIME VS. NORTH ALABAMA

FLORENCE, Ala. - Despite UNF women's basketball's clinical performance in the paint, it was North Alabama's 11 three-pointers that set the Lions apart from the Ospreys (10-12, 3-7 ASUN) as North Florida dropped a 70-65 decision to UNA (9-12, 4-5 ASUN) Saturday, Feb. 5.

LAST 5 vs. THE LIONS
Date    Result    Location
2/15/20 W, 67-65 Jacksonville, Fla.
1/30/21 W, 68-63 Florence, Ala.
1/31/21 W, 80-77 Florence, Ala.
3/11/21 W, 86-74 Marietta, Ga.
2/5/22 L, 65-70 Florence, Ala.


LOOKING AHEAD

The Ospreys will prepare for their regular season finale and make their final push for the postseason in a midweek matchup against Eastern Kentucky on Wednesday, Mar. 1, at 7 p.m., in 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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