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University of North Florida Athletics

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From the Jump - Women's Basketball Prepares for Regular Season Finale Against Eastern Kentucky

2/28/2023 2:00:00 PM

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - North Florida women's basketball closes out its 2022-23 regular season when it faces off against Eastern Kentucky for a second time this year on Wednesday, Mar. 1, at 7 p.m., in the UNF Arena.

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


FROM THE JUMP

  • Ospreys will be in search of their sixth home win and fifth conference win on the last day of the regular season.
  • UNF looks to avenge its earlier loss to EKU last month to close the season out on a high note at home.
  • First matchup against the Colonels in program history hosted at UNF.
  • Lyric Swann remains the top scorer for the Ospreys at 14.1 points per game, while also putting in the most time on the floor with 35.0 minutes per game.
  • She is set to reach the top 10 in UNF single-season D-I history for both points per game and minutes per game.
  • Emma Broermann has started every game played over the past two seasons and will end her career with the top field goal percentage in UNF D-I history.
  • Freshmen Sarah Taub and Helena Rafnsdottir join Broermann as the only three players to appear in all 26 games so far this year.
  • The Swann sisters have combined for 90 threes this season, which makes up for 51% of the Ospreys' three-point production.
  • Kaila Rougier, along with Broermann and Taub, have all surpassed 100 rebounds this season, while both L. Swann and Rafnsdottir are within single digits of that mark.


SCOUTING REPORT

  • Eastern Kentucky enters this week's contest with a 17-13 overall record and 10-7 in conference play.
  • Colonels are set up to earn the No. 5 seed in the ASUN Championship tournament with a win this week.
  • Won four games in a row before their most recent game with a loss on the road to Liberty.
  • Antwainette Walker won the final ASUN Player of the Week honor given out by the ASUN on Monday.
  • She dropped 28 points in each game against Queens and Liberty, while also combining for 19 rebounds and six steals.
  • The redshirt senior averages 21.1 points and 9.5 rebounds on the season, while playing 34.5 minutes per game.
  • Marissa Mackins and Danielle Rainey also average double figures with 12.5 points and 12.1 points respectively, while also combining for 119 total threes.
  • Mackins, the former Osprey, also averages 3.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game.
  • Alice Recanati, the only Colonel to play in all 30 games, leads in assists with 5.2 per game.


AN OSPREY WIN AGAINST EASTERN KENTUCKY WOULD...

- Even the season series against the Colonels.
- Extend series lead to a 3-1 lead for UNF.
- Be back-to-back home wins for the first time since Feb. 9, 2022.
- Give UNF its first win in season home finale since 2019 season.


PROJECTED UNF STARTING FIVE (BASED ON LAST GAME)

G - Brianna Livingston (8.6 PPG, 3.3 RPG, 1.4 APG)
G - Sarah Taub (4.0 PPG, 4.4 RPG, 2.1 APG)
G - Kaila Rougier (9.0 PPG, 5.1 RPG, 3.2 APG)
G - Lyric Swann (14.1 PPG, 4.1 RPG, 2.4 APG)
F - Emma Broermann (8.1 PPG, 6.7 RPG, 0.8 APG)


LAST TIME VS. EASTERN KENTUCKY

RICHMOND, Ky. - After facing a large deficit early in the first period, North Florida women's basketball (5-12, 2-5 ASUN) wasn't able to find the spark it needed on offense, as the Ospreys fell to Eastern Kentucky (11-8, 4-2 ASUN), 71-41, on Saturday afternoon.

LAST 5 vs. THE COLONELS
Date    Result    Location
11/29/14    W, 62-45    Wilmington, N.C.
1/22/22    W, 78-64    Richmond, Ky.
1/21/23    L, 41-71    Richmond, Ky.

 


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 UNF Arena.

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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