Post Game Interview
Highlights vs. North Florida (Video)
NEWARK, NJ—Visiting North Florida outscored NJIT in the fourth quarter, 20-6, as the Ospreys, who led by 3 points through three quarters, pulled away for a 68-51 win in Atlantic Sun Conference women's basketball Friday night in the Estelle and Zoom Fleisher Athletic Center.
Junior Claire Ioannidis led all scorers with 25 points (12 in the fourth quarter) for the Ospreys, who are 2-2 in the A-Sun. UNF had lost six consecutive games between December 19 and January 16 before snapping the skid vs. conference foe Lipscomb on January 18. The win against NJIT was the second in a row for North Florida (6-13 overall).
The victorious Ospreys backed Ioannidis' 25 points with 12 points apiece from Sierra Shepherd and Kadesia Johnson.
NJIT, which trailed by two after a quarter, by one at the half, and by three after three quarters, got 19 points from redshirt freshman
Kelly Guarino, who shot 6-for-13 from the field and made four 3-pointers. She also led the Highlanders with 3 steals.
Leah Horton gave a strong effort off the NJIT bench, making 6 of her 13 shots from the field and finishing with 14 points in 21 minutes.
A key in North Florida's win was its ability to capitalize on NJIT miscues. The turnovers were close—15 by the Highlanders to 13 for the Ospreys—but the visitors cashed in, outscoring NJIT 20-10 in points off turnovers.
UNF also held a 35-21 advantage in total rebounds, paced by 7 rebounds from Johnson, a 5-foot-10 senior. NJIT's top rebounder was senior
Ronni Grandison, who tied her career-high with 7 rebounds.
The teams were an identical 12-for-26 (46 percent) from the field in the opening half and each team made two free throws in the first 20 minutes. But North Florida held a 32-31 lead thanks to having made 6 3-pointers to 5 for the Highlanders.
Guarino who made 6 of 10 shots, including 4 of 8 from downtown, led all scorers at the half with 16 points, while Shepherd's 10 points topped North Florida.
The Highlanders, down by a point at the halftime break, fired in five points in the first 29 seconds of the third quarter, taking a 36-32 lead, thanks to a 3-pointer by
Alana Dudley and a layup by
Camerin Spahn, assisted by Dudley.
However, Ioannidis answered with back-to-back threes and then Karrah Johnson scored on a layup, as UNF swung from a 4-point deficit to a 40-36 lead in a span of 88 seconds.
The second Ioannidis 3-pointer in the 8-0 swing put North Florida ahead 38-36 with 6:53 remaining in the third quarter. The Ospreys would lead the rest of the way, but the score stayed close for a long time.
Hadley Kiefer's jump shot gave the visitors a 48-43 advantage with 1:14 remaining in the third, but Horton's layup for NJIT left the score at 48-45, with UNF leading after three periods.
NJIT shot a decent 5-for-12 from the floor in the third quarter. But with a win still in reach, the Highlanders suddenly went cold, shooting just 2-for-10 over the final 10 minutes, with both made field goals coming from Horton. NJIT also committed 6 turnovers. keying a 7-0 points-off-turnovers advantage for UNF in the fourth quarter.
On the other end, UNF's Ioannidis shot 4-for-4 from floor, including a pair of 3-pointers, pouring in 12 fourth-quarter points, double the total of the entire Highlander team.
NJIT's next game is home vs. Jacksonville in the Fleisher Athletic Center on Tuesday at 7 pm.
The game was moved from its original date and time of Monday at 7 pm due to flight cancellations related to Winter Storm Jonas.
(Leah Horton photo courtesy Linwood Ferguson)
