DELAND, Fla. – Hatter women's basketball gritty comeback fell short as Stetson dropped an ASUN contest to North Alabama, 60-57, Saturday afternoon in the Edmunds Center.
Khamya McNeal's found the shooter's touch putting in 17 points off the bench.
Stetson (8-10, 2-3 ASUN) drops its first ASUN contest at home. North Alabama (7-9, 2-3 ASUN) moves to .500 against the Hatters in the all-time series.
The Hatters started off slow, going back and forth with the Lions, 8-6 at the halfway point of the quarter.
Jaelyn Talley started the scoring, making a pair of free throws 22 seconds into the contest. After a few lead changes, Stetson fell behind the Lions at the end of the first quarter wrapping it up at 19-10.
Despite the Lion's advantage, building a lead by as much as 15 points, the Hatters found their rhythm and narrowed the score.
Jordan Peete put up seven points for the home team's cause and
Maddie Novak capped off a great final possession for the Hatters, nailing a three-pointer with 21 seconds left in the first half. The Hatters went into the locker room at halftime trailing behind the Lions, 35-27.
The Hatters came into the third quarter reenergized and focused. Stetson started shooting its way back into the game as
Khamya McNeal found the shooting touch with back-to-back threes and a jumper falling. SU had the margin down to two possessions entering the fourth quarter trailing 49-44.
McNeal carried the shooting touch to the fourth quarter with Talley joining in. The duo combined for the first seven Hatter points of the frame after a pair of layups then another three for McNeal narrowing the score but UNA still in front, 54-51. The Lions hit a pair of threes stretching the advantage back to nine points [60-51] with 5:26 left. The Hatter defense locked in as the away team was held scoreless for the remainder of the game, but SU's offense went cold as they could not make up the difference fall short, 60-57.
The Hatters will travel North for ASUN play making the trip to Lynchburg, Virginia to take on Liberty at Liberty Arena Thursday, January 19 for a 7:00PM tip. The game will be available to stream on ESPN+.
