DeLand, Fla. ? 16 first half turnovers ultimately doomed a depleted Stetson women's basketball team (7-11, 4-5 Atlantic Sun) in a 62-52 loss to North Florida (3-15, 2-7 A-Sun) Thursday night at the Edmunds Center. Sophomore center Jessica Conner (Cocoa, Fla.) notched her third double-double of the season with 15 points and a career-high 15 rebounds. Stetson had just eight players active for the contest and found itself down to six after two players fouled out midway through the second half.
The Hatters never led by more than one point in the contest as UNF took the lead for good on a Brittany Kirkland jumper with 6:51 remaining in the first half. A subsequent 7-0 Lady Osprey run allowed the visitors to take a 21-13 lead with 4:25 left in the half and head to the locker room leading 23-17.
UNF led by as many as 11 early in the second period; although Stetson was twice able to chip the deficit down to five points, the Hatters got no closer. Another 7-0 UNF burst after a Sharnesha Smith (Kingsland, Ga.) three-pointer put it ahead 48-36 with 6:15 to go and ultimately sealed the win for the Lady Ospreys, breaking a 12-game losing streak.
The Hatters found themselves down to seven players when freshman guard Kelly Ellison (Columbus, Ga.) picked up her fifth foul at the 10:19 mark and at six when the same fate befell freshman guard Jessica Bivins (Orlando, Fla.) with 3:13 to go and Stetson within seven points.
Conner's rebound total was the highest by a Hatter since senior forward Shayna Swinson (Atlanta, Ga.) also grabbed 15 against South Alabama in December 2006. Bivins finished with 12 points, four steals and three assists while Smith tallied 11 points to advance her career total to 957 points. Stetson committed 25 turnovers overall against a tough Lady Osprey defense.
Kirkland exploded for a career-high 24 points, five rebounds, four assists and four steals on 10-19 shooting to lead the way for UNF, which also got 13 points, eight steals and four rebounds from Juliemay Syquio en route to its first ever win at Stetson. Jennifer Guldager collected a team-high seven rebounds.
The Hatters, who have lost four of their last five contests, will look to get back in the win column Saturday at 7 p.m. against A-Sun rival Jacksonville. Bill Topping and Dee Romine will call the action with live audio and video through Hatter Vision, available exclusively along with live stats at www.GoHatters.com, the official online home of Stetson Athletics.
