DeLAND, Fla. - The Stetson University women's basketball rebounded from last Saturday's loss with a 62-55 win over North Alabama on Thursday afternoon. After trailing 19-16 after the first quarter, the Hatters would outscore the Lions 46-36 to close out the game and secure their 12th game and get back to a .500 record.

"It was one of the best crowds we've ever had as far as our Elementary Day. I was in the back before we even started and I can hear them," said Head Coach Lynn Bria. "North Alabama is a very good team, one of the best transition teams in our league, and I knew if we could just sustain the first quarter and they came out and jumped on us but we finally settled down a little bit."

In a game that featured nine lead changes, Quentarra Mitchell spearheaded the offensive effort off the bench, providing a season-high 18 points on 5-of-11 shooting. She went 3-of-4 from beyond the arc, two of which came in the second quarter, and she went 5-of-6 from the charity stripe. She hit three of the Hatters' four three-pointers in the win, the other coming from Jordan Peete in the first quarter. The graduate forward also added a season-high nine rebounds to her final stat line.

"Our kids worked very hard, I thought Q really carried us, in both halves. I thought her rebounds were key," said Bria. "I thought Jaelyn had a great game, she missed a layup and really responded and came back.

Jaelyn Talley finished the game with 11 points and three rebounds while going a perfect 5-of-5 from the line. Promise Keshi rounded out the Hatters double-figure scorers with 10 points and five rebounds while registering six shots from the line. Keshi notably was a force on defense, recording a pair of blocks and three steals.

Stetson's lead shot blocker this season, Anna Kunzwiler, added another three blocks to her tally in the winning effort. The freshman guard blocked the most shots in a game since Tatiana Streun blocked three shots against Bellarmine on Jan. 27, 2022.

The Hatters won the game despite the Lions finishing with a better shooting percentage and more rebounds. Stetson shot 17-of-56 from the field, as opposed to North Alabama's 21-of-65, while the Lions outrebounded Stetson 46-40. The difference-maker came at the free throw line, where Stetson made 24 shots to the Lions' seven.

"It was good for us and I really liked our response from the last game, last game we did not play with energy, we did not play with the heart we normally play with so it was good to see that we came out responded and bounced back," said Bria.

The Hatters also forced the Lions into 18 turnovers, while only turning the ball over nine times, a season-low. They converted those turnovers into 14 points on the other end.

Stetson, now 12-12, will return to action on Saturday for the start of a double-header with the men's team. The Hatters will host Central Arkansas at the Edmunds Center with a tip-off time scheduled for 2:00 PM.

About Stetson University Athletics: Stetson University's Athletics Program is driven by a shared purpose. It is what inspires, motivates and binds us together. More than a task, a reason for being. THE HATTER PURPOSE is to create and provide an experience of a lifetime through teamwork and relationships to achieve excellence. This purpose is achieved through five Core Values: Communication, Integrity, Excellence, Value People and Commitment. To learn more about the HATS program and our Core Values, visit GoHatters.com/HATS.

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