By: Zach Morgan, Contributing Writer
With one game remaining in the regular season, UNF women’s basketball has an old foe standing in the way of its chance at being a fourth seed in the Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament.
UNF will travel across town to take on its conference rival, the Jacksonville University Dolphins. The River City Rumble is slated to tip off at 1 p.m. Feb. 25 at the Swisher Gymnasium. The Ospreys will look to finish their season with four consecutive wins on their way to the conference tournament.
After losing in the first round of the tournament last season, the players understand they will need to play with a certain edge to their game in order to win.
“[We need to play with the] same intensity we had tonight [against Mercer]. Everyone was amazing,” forward Raneisha Lamar said.
UNF is finishing strong after crushing both Mercer, Feb. 16, and Kennesaw State, Feb. 18, to close out its home schedule. With one final game remaining, the Ospreys will hit the road looking to finish the season on a four-game winning streak.
When the Ospreys defeated Mercer, they clinched a spot in the Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament. The remainder of the season determined seeding for the postseason tournament. Lamar recorded her second consecutive double-double, finishing with 14 points and 13 rebounds. UNF shot 43.1 percent from the floor, 78.9 percent from the free throw line and dominated the boards with 48 rebounds. Taylor Smith added 13 points, and UNF sailed to a 66-49 victory over its conference foes.
“They were really physical with us early in the game, and we played a little faster than we typically do,” Head Coach Mary Tappmeyer said. “Being able to win pretty convincingly with our leading scorer not scoring very well — I’ll take it.”
Two days later, the Ospreys played in their final home game of the year against Kennesaw State, and while the final score didn’t reflect it, UNF vastly outplayed it, as well. Brittany Kirkland finished with 23 points while junior guard Jadhken Kerr added 12 points with two 3-pointers. Kerr became UNF’s all-time leader in 3-pointers made.
UNF’s Senior Day would turn out to be a good one as the Ospreys won 64-56 behind the strong play of Kirkland in her final home game. Other seniors who played in their final home game were Taylor Smith, Kim Baker and Megan Peterson.
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