Scoring Push Too Late For Women's Basketball in Road Loss to Kennesaw State

Thursday, January 11

Kennesaw, Ga.

7 p.m.

University of North Florida

6-11,0-3ASUN

Kennesaw State

6-9,2-0ASUN

North Florida

Kennesaw St.

Scoring Push Too Late For Women's Basketball in Road Loss to Kennesaw State

1/11/2024 9:30:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

Adams Led With 11 Points, Broermann Reaches Double-Digit Boards

KENNESAW, Ga. - North Florida women's basketball (6-11, 0-3) was stuck in another defensive battle in their road conference opener, but fell late to Kennesaw State (6-9, 2-0), 52-43, on Thursday evening.

The Ospreys were held to single digits in each of the first three quarters, but kept the deficit within seven at the end of the third period. They went on a 12-4 run in the final four minutes of the game to cut the Owls' lead to six, but made free throws put it away in the end.

Jayla Adams led the team in points with 11 total to go along with five rebounds, two assists and a season-high three blocks. Emma Broermann reached 10 rebounds to hit double-digits on the boards, while Eklund added seven points and seven rebounds as well.

KSU 52, UNF 43

RECORDS

North Florida | 6-11, 0-3 ASUN
Kennesaw State | 6-9, 2-0 ASUN

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

First Half: Broermann started off the action with a layup in the paint to put the Ospreys' first two points on the board...Lyric Swann and Kaila Rougier both came back with layups of their own to extend their early lead to four...Adams made the last field goal of the period with just over two minutes left in the first quarter to keep it tied at 9-9...Rougier made another bucket to tie, followed by Helena Rafnsdottir making a three to take a one-point lead...the defense continued to stay strong on both sides with Eklund with the only UNF field goal in the last five minutes of the half to go into the break down three.

Second Half: After Kennesaw State came out with three early points to start the half, Eklund made a free throw and Broermann worked her way in the post to bring the deficit to five points...Alexa Washington saw her first action with the freshman picking up a pair of points to make it a one-possession game late in the third...the offense started to pick up for both teams in the fourth quarter, as both Swann and Adams scored a pair of baskets...the Ospreys fell down 14 points, but the veteran leaders kept fighting as Broermann converted on a bucket and Adams secured an and-one opportunity...more points from Adams, Eklund and Broermann pulled UNF with two possessions with a 12-4 run, but KSU pulled it out in a low-scoring affair of 52-43.

LEADERS BY THE NUMBERS

UNF
Jayla Adams | 11 points, 5 rebounds, 3 blocks, 2 assists
Emma Broermann | 8 points, 10 rebounds, 2 blocks
Selma Eklund | 7 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 blocks, 2 steals

KSU
Prencis Harden | 21 points, 7 rebounds, 2 blocks
Keyarah Berry | 9 points, 3 rebounds

COACH'S THOUGHTS

"I'm proud of our kids' effort, but disappointed in our lack of point production tonight. Recently, we've struggled to score due to excessive turnovers. Tonight, we actually took care of the ball better and scored more points off turnovers than KSU. I praised our players for that in the locker room after the game. We scored more points in the paint than they did, which is an improvement. But to shoot 1-for-19 from 3 is just unacceptable. We missed some bunnies inside too. It's unprofessional. Our staff did a great job preparing for this game. Transition defense was a big key and that worked well for us, but we didn't convert our open shots. Making shots has to matter more to our team."
-- head coach Erika Lambert

NOTES

Ospreys combined for a season-high eight blocks coming from Adams, Broermann and Eklund, with the previous high in a game being four total.
Eklund recorded three blocks for a second time on the year, while Adams set a new season-high with three as well.
Broermann notched double-digit rebounds for a fourth time this season, including a second time in the past three games.
She has scored at least eight points and seven rebounds in seven of 17 games during the year.
UNF narrowly out-rebounded the Owls, 44-42, and points in the paint, 32-30, and points off turnovers, 12-6.

UP NEXT

North Florida continues its road conference weekend further up north with a matchup against Queens (N.C.) on Saturday, Jan. 13, with tip-off set for 2 p.m., in Charlotte, N.C.