Women's Basketball Upset by UNF, 55-40

MACON, Ga. – Despite being a number two seed in the Atlantic Sun Tournament for the first time since 1992, the Mercer women's basketball team fell victim to a scrappy UNF team in its opening round game on Wednesday evening.

The Lady Ospreys captured the 55-40 victory to advance to the semifinal round of the tournament. UNF (11-19, 7-13 A-Sun) faces the winner of Thursday's matchup between No. 3 Campbell and No. 6 Jacksonville. With the loss, Mercer fell to 14-16 (11-9 A-Sun).

The Bears struggled offensively, shooting 26 percent (15-58) from the field. Mercer's 40-point output matched its lowest scoring mark of the season, set on Feb. 25 at Belmont.

“I thought that both teams played really good defense tonight,” head coach Janell Jones said. “I thought that North Florida shot the ball better than we did and consequently they came out of the game with the victory.”

Mercer seniors LaToya Jackson and Courtney Ford were the only Bears to break into double-digit scoring, combining for 23 points on 8-of-31 shooting. Jackson added four rebounds and a steal to her 13 points while Ford notched seven rebounds and six steals in the losing effort.

Despite the hostile atmosphere of the University Center, UNF started strong defensively, holding the Bears scoreless through the first six-plus minutes of the game en route to a 10-0 lead. Mercer missed on its first ten attempts from the field before sophomore Lacy Ramon converted a layup with 13:23 on the clock.

Ramon's layup sparked a stretch in which the Bears outscored UNF 12-7 to climb within five with 8:08 left. The Lady Ospreys returned fire, extending their lead to eight before going into halftime ahead, 22-14.

After UNF senior forward Arlande Charizol scored the second half's first bucket, Mercer employed a 10-3 surge to close within one (27-26) with 16:32 on the clock.

Moments later, Ramon found Ford open on the left side of the perimeter and the senior drained a three to give Mercer its first lead of the game (32-30). Each team traded scores over the next two minutes as the lead seesawed back and fourth.

UNF broke away from a slim, 35-34 lead with eight-straight points to take an insurmountable nine-point advantage.

Sophomore Brittany Kirkland led the Ospreys with a game-high 24 points on 7-of-14 shooting from the field, including a 9-for-10 effort from the free throw line.

Barring an invitation to a postseason tournament, Wednesday night's game marked Jackson and Ford's final games in Orange and Black.