Women’s Basketball lost to Florida Atlantic University with a score of 50-41 on Wednesday afternoon in Boca Raton. 

The Ospreys faltered offensively, shooting just under 26% from the field. UNF’s defense ultimately kept itself in the game, but FAU pulled away in the final quarter. 

First Half

Sophomore forward Sydney Pettis scored five of the Ospreys’ first seven points before the opening media timeout. Despite this, the Owls had a 9-7 advantage halfway through the first quarter. 

After the timeout, both teams went scoreless for the next four minutes thanks to a barrage of missed shots. Layups were traded to keep the difference at two until FAU sank a quarter-ending three to extend their lead to five.

The Ospreys held the Owls scoreless for the first half of the second quarter. UNF tied up the score at 14 after junior guard Helena Rafnsdottir drilled a three-pointer. Following this, UNF did not score a field goal for almost four minutes. Defensively, FAU knocked down one layup and one three to take back the lead, 20-16. 

Senior guard Jazmine Spencer made a three to cut the deficit to three. After a rough offensive first half for both teams, the Ospreys entered the locker room at halftime trailing 22-19. 

Second Half

Offensively, UNF improved slightly. However, FAU improved tremendously scoring-wise. Even so, the second half started well for the Ospreys, as they scored a trio of layups to take a 25-22 lead almost three minutes in. 

UNF scored their first 12 points of the half in the paint, enough to lead 31-25 almost halfway through the quarter. The Ospreys went scoreless for the last five minutes of the quarter but held FAU to just three points. Going into the final quarter, UNF led 31-28. 

Both teams traded blows for the first three minutes, leading to a 36-36 tie. After this, the game changed for good. The Owls went on an 8-0 run and led 44-36 with four minutes to go. UNF couldn’t keep up with FAU’s late-game surge and the Ospreys lost 50-41. 

No player had double-digits for the first time this season. Rafnsdottir led the team with nine points, but that wasn’t enough, as UNF lost its third game in four tries. 

“Our offensive production today was very poor,” head coach Erika Lambert told UNF Athletics. “The looks we got were solid and we just have to make shots.”

North Florida drops to 1-3 and FAU surges to 2-1. The Ospreys are averaging just 51 points against Division One schools. 

The Ospreys will look for their first Division One victory as they travel to Orlando to face the University of Central Florida. It will be another weekday morning game, with UNF facing UCF next Tuesday at 11 a.m

___

For more information or news tips, or if you see an error in this story or have any compliments or concerns, contact editor@unfspinnaker.com.