DeLand, Fla. - Junior guard Tierra Brown (Orlando, Fla.) scored 15 points, including two game-sealing free throws with six seconds left, as the Stetson women's basketball team (3-12, 3-3 Atlantic Sun) survived a furious North Florida (4-11, 1-5 A-Sun) rally for a 58-56 win at the Edmunds Center on Saturday. Junior forward Jessica Conner (Cocoa, Fla.) added 14 points and six rebounds for the Hatters, who led by 17 at halftime.
A dominating first half saw Stetson sprint ahead by as many as 19 points before heading into the locker room leading 31-14. North Florida scored only four points in the first 11 minutes and did not reach double figures on the scoreboard until the 4:39 mark of the first half. Senior forward Ashli Jackson (Opelika, Ala.) led all scorers in the first 20 minutes with nine points on a trio of three-pointers while sophomore guard Lyllique Roman (Poinciana, Fla.) knocked down all three of her field goal attempts and had seven points; she would finish with 10 in the game.
Stetson appeared to be well in control of the ballgame as late as the 11:30 mark of the second half when Conner grabbed an offensive rebound and made the putback to extend the Hatter lead to 45-30. UNF had other ideas, however, going on a 15-3 run over the next five minutes to cut the lead to three points. Although the Hatters never allowed the Ospreys to tie the game or go ahead, UNF did make it within two several times, including on a Juliemay Syquio jumper with 28 seconds left that made it 56-54.
North Florida fouled junior center Natasha Graboski (Upper Sandusky, Ohio) on the ensuing possession; she missed both free throws as UNF grabbed the rebound and called timeout with 15 seconds left to set up a play. Graboski immediately atoned for the free throw misses by sliding to the low block and drawing a charge on Ospreys forward Jadhken Kerr with seven seconds left. North Florida then fouled Brown, who sank both shots to give the Hatters a four-point edge. Brittany Kirkland's layup at the buzzer made the final score 58-56.
Kirkland finished with 12 points and eight assists to lead the Ospreys while Syquio had seven points, seven rebounds, five assists and four steals. Kerr and Margaret Bell (nine points) also tied for the team lead with seven boards.
The Hatters hit the road for two A-Sun games next week, visiting ETSU on Thursday and Campbell on Saturday. Tip-off at Memorial Center in Johnson City, Tenn. on Thursday is set for 4:45 p.m. with the Stetson-ETSU men's basketball game set to immediately follow. Both contests can be seen on A-Sun.TV with live stats available at www.etsubucs.com.
HATTER NOTES: Junior center Daphnee Frieson (Mobile, Ala.) grabbed a team-high seven rebounds for Stetson and followed up on her five-block night against Jacksonville on Thursday with four more rejections today...With 28 blocks on the season, Frieson moved into sole possession of ninth place in school history in that category...The Hatters shook off a frigid performance from the free throw line (15-33, .455) to record back-to-back wins for the first time this season...Jackson's three triples gave her 71 for her career and moved her past Cher Dyson '01 into eighth place all-time at Stetson...She is the first Hatter to make 70 three-pointers in her career since Nefertiti Walker '06.
