UNF women’s basketball (2-5) found themselves in a five-game slump after a disappointing 53-49 loss to Bethune-Cookman on Nov. 27. To bounce back, the Ospreys took a page out of the ‘Birds of Trey’ playbook to sink a school-record 18 three pointers, including a game winner, to defeat the Towson University Tigers 74-72 in overtime on Nov. 28 and escape their losing rut.

Improving on their bad habit of allowing teams to get ahead in the first quarter, the Ospreys went into a defensive gridlock to start the game. The score was 11-10 in favor of UNF after the first quarter.

The Osprey lead came primarily from sophomore guard Sierra Shepherd who hit two three pointers in the quarter. Shepherd would continue to contribute in key moments and led both teams in scoring with 10 points in the first half. Shepherd finished with 12 for the game. UNF head coach Darrick Gibbs praised the team’s hot start.

“They responded,” Gibbs said. “We got off to a good start which really set the tone for the rest of the game and put us in a position where we could compete as the game went along.”

The team made 34 percent of their shots and also edged Bethune-Cookman in rebounds and steals. The effort showed on the scoreboard as UNF led 22-16 at the half.

But in the second half, Bethune Cookman capitalized on sloppy mistakes by UNF. The Wildcats scored 13 points off turnovers and climbed back to take a 36-35 lead in the third quarter.

“They were the aggressor [in the second half],” Gibbs said. “They were able to dictate tempo a little bit more and that got them back into the game.”

After a closely fought fourth quarter, the Ospreys weren’t able to regain the lead, losing 53-49.

UNF would bounce back from their fifth straight loss to beat Towson (2-4) 74-72 off of a last second shot in overtime on Nov 28. The Ospreys hit a school-record 18 three pointers in a thriller at UNF Arena.

The Ospreys came out hot against the Tigers. They ended the first quarter with a 21-10 lead. The most notable thing about their start was how balanced the attack was. All but one Osprey who played in the first quarter registered points for the team.

The Ospreys maintained their lead by shooting 37 percent as a team from behind the arc in the first half. Momentum from the three pointers, including two each from both freshman Hadley Kiefer and junior Taru Madekivi, boosted UNF to the half with a 33-26 lead.

“Didn’t get the shots in earlier games,” Madekivi said. “I feel like we’ll feel a lot better after this game and start hitting more shots.”

The third quarter got off to a disastrous start for UNF. The Tigers scored several quick baskets to trim the lead to one point within the first minute of the second half.

Though the Tigers jumped ahead and led by as many as eight, a barrage of baskets by Madekivi and sophomore guard Sierra Shepherd helped the Ospreys claw back into the game. Madekivi and Sheperd both finished with 15 points.

Turnovers began to hurt the Ospreys once again. The team fell behind in the fourth quarter due largely in part to several intercepted passes on key possessions.

In the final second of regulation, a crucial three point shot by Kiefer sent the game into overtime, tying the game 65-65.

In overtime the Ospreys were down by one in the closing moments until junior guard Claire Ioannidis sank the game winning shot to give the Ospreys the 74-72 win. Ioannidis finished with a team-high 16 points. Towson junior Raven Bankston finished leading all scorers with 21 points.

After the game, UNF head coach Darrick Gibbs knew his team had it in them.

“That’s what we do, we shoot the ball,” Gibbs said. “We got some girls who can really shoot the basketball so that just put us in a situation to do what we do well.”

The Ospreys next game is at Georgia State in GSU Arena on Dec 5.

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