JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - North Florida women's basketball (6-9, 0-1) went down to the wire in a second-half push against Stetson (6-9, 1-0), but ultimately fell late against the Hatters, 61-57, to open up conference play on Thursday evening in UNF Arena.

The Ospreys fought back from down six with four minutes left in the game after a Jayla Adams' three-pointer brought them with one. An offensive foul with 13 seconds remaining and multiple offensive rebounds from the free throw line from Stetson ended a short comeback attempt for UNF in its first ASUN game of the year.

SU 61, UNF 57

RECORDS

North Florida | 6-9, 0-1 ASUN
Stetson | 6-9, 1-0 ASUN

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

First Half: Ospreys started off hot with a pair of scores from Kaila Rougier and Selma Eklund before Stetson scored six straight points of their own...Lyric Swann joined the party with a three followed by Rougier making one from range to keep it within one possession through one...the Hatters went on a run to start the second period, but Taub stopped the bleeding with a made jumper just before the media timeout...Rougier drained her second three of the night, as the Ospreys went into the half down 12 points.

Second Half: Swann started the third with a jumper followed by a trio of made free throws from UNF...an 11-2 was sparked by an Adams trey and finished with Eklund's second make from downtown...Broermann executed on a score in the paint, while Adams and Swann came back with shots from distance to take the lead from the Hatters...Taub made a layup to close out the quarter down to Stetson by only one point...Broermann kept the Ospreys within attacking range after a layup and a pair of free throws...Rougier also had a couple makes with Swann earning a layup in between to make it a two-point game...Adams had a three with one minute remaining to put UNF within a point, but miscues late in the game kept the Hatters in front as the time expired, 61-57.

LEADERS BY THE NUMBERS

UNF
Lyric Swann | 13 points, 4 steals
Kaila Rougier | 12 points, 3 rebounds
Jayla Adams | 11 points, 5 assists, 2 rebounds, 2 steals
Emma Broermann | 8 points, 11 rebounds

SU
Jaelyn Talley | 16 points, 7 rebounds
Quentarra Mitchell | 15 points, 7 rebounds
Jamiya Turner | 10 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists

COACH'S THOUGHTS

NOTES

• Swann, Rougier and Adams all had double figures, while Broermann earned double-digit rebounds for a third time this season.
• Swann reached a season-high four steals and hit that mark for the first time since Jan. 26, 2023, against Jacksonville.
• Adams recorded her third consecutive of 37 or more minutes on the court.
• The graduate also achieved five of more assists for a sixth time on the season.
• UNF held the slight advantage in assists, 12-10, while also leading in points off turnovers, 21-11.

UP NEXT

North Florida returns with another home game this weekend with another in-state matchup against Florida Gulf Coast on Saturday, Jan. 6, with tip-off set for 2 p.m., at UNF Arena.