Thursday, January 04, 2007

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - The University of North Florida women's basketball team put together its best offensive output of the season, shooting 43 percent from the field in a 59-53 victory over Campbell in the team's Atlantic Sun home opener.

The Lady Ospreys led by as many as many as 19 before fending off a second-half surge by the Fighting Camels. Tamara Hubbard led a group of three Lady Ospreys in double figures, scoring a season high 16 points. Jennifer Bowen followed her with 15 points, while Shandrea Moore chipped in 10 for her second- straight game in double figures.

"We haven't been in many close games and haven't been able to work on time and possession this year," UNF head coach Mary Tappmeyer said. "I thought we really held our composure at the end of the game."

The Lady Ospreys built a 19-point advantage in the opening half, but watched that slip to 12 at the break. Campbell pulled within three when Adrienne Rieley hit a jumper with 2:22 remaining. That's all the closer Campbell would get, however, as Moore answered that basket with a baseline jumper from the left corner that Bowen fed her on a drive to the lane.

"Shandrea hit a couple of really big shots," Tappmeyer said. "She's not afraid to take that shot."

Moore helped ice the game for UNF, scoring six of the Lady Ospreys' final seven points. Campbell began to knife into the UNF advantage with a 13-4 run that started with an Octavia Blackwell 3- pointer and ended with Rieley's basket at the 2:22 mark.

Rieley almost single-handedly brought the Fighting Camels back, scoring 10 of the team's 13 points in that run. She finished the contest with a team high 14 points, and did most of her damage with starting center Marlena Murphy on the bench with five fouls. Murphy led all players with 12 rebounds, as Campbell outrebounded UNF 43-31. The UNF defense was able to overcome that rebounding deficit in the opening half by holding Campbell to only 18 points.

That defense created points on the offense end, as the Lady Ospreys came out of the gates sizzling, building a 22-5 advantage. Bowen scored six of those points, while Hubbard had four. Denisia Andrews also chipped in with a couple of baskets off the bench. She finished the night with five points, while Willonda Windham had three points off the bench.

Campbell pulled within 12 at the break after Taylor Oliver was fouled on a 3-point attempt and nailed all three of her fouls shots. UNF finished the game with 14 turnovers and seven steals, while Campbell had 20 turnovers and eight steals.

Andrews and Jennifer Guldager led the Lady Ospreys with five rebounds apiece, while Guldager also contributed three steals to the victory.

Fans can catch a replay of the game on CSS-TV Friday night at 7 p.m.