Liberty University
8-7,2-2ASUN
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North Florida
5-9,2-2ASUN
North Florida’s 3-Point Shooting Sinks Liberty, 68-58
1/12/2023 2:02:49 PM | Women's Basketball
A short-handed North Florida team utilized hot three-point shooting to top Liberty, Thursday afternoon at UNF Arena. The Ospreys’ 13 triples led to a 68-58 decision as the home team has now won nine of 10 meetings in the Liberty-North Florida head-to-head series.
Liberty drops to 8-7 on the season, 2-2 in ASUN play and 1-5 all-time at UNF Arena. The Lady Flames, who committed 18 turnovers on the day, led 32-25 midway through the third quarter. However, the visitors were outscored 43-26 the rest of the way.
North Florida, which was without leading scorer Lyric Swann and dressed only seven players, pushes its record to 5-9 overall and 2-2 in ASUN competition. The Ospreys got career-high scoring efforts from Elysa Wesolek (20 points) and Maddie Millar (19 points), who combined for 10 of their team’s 13 trifectas.
Box Score Highlights
Liberty Individuals: Mya Berkman – 13 points, 7 rebounds; Jordan Bailey – 11 points, 3-6 3FG; Dee Brown – 7 points, 9 rebounds; Kennedi Williams – 6 points, 6 assists, 2 steals.
North Florida Individuals: Wesolek – 20 points, 5-9 3FG; Millar – 19 points, 5-8 3FG; Jaelyn Swann – 13 points, 3-6 3FG; Kaila Rougier – 7 points, 7 rebounds, 7 assists.
Key Team Stats: Liberty (43.8 percent, 21-of-48) shot slightly better from the field than North Florida (42.6 percent, 23-of-54). But the Ospreys hit exactly half (13-of-26) of their three-point tries, including 69.2 percent (9-of-13) after halftime. North Florida doubled up Liberty in bench points, 32-16, despite only having two active players on its bench. The Ospreys scored 19 points off Liberty’s 18 turnovers. The Lady Flames finished with a 33-31 advantage on the boards.
Turning Point
Alise Markova’s three-pointer from the wing with 5:14 left in the contest halved North Florida’s lead, making it a one-possession game at 52-49.
North Florida then sealed its victory with a 9-2 run headlined by a pair of three-pointers. Jaelyn Swann beat the shot clock buzzer with a triple at the 3:25 mark, and then Millar’s fifth and final three-pointer of the afternoon from deep in the corner punctuated the pivotal run with just 2:17 left on the clock.
Game Summary
First Quarter
- North Florida hit a pair of three-pointers during the opening period, including one by Elysa Wesolek which put the home team in front 15-7 at the 1:59 mark.
- Liberty then scored five straight points to cut its deficit to 15-12 at the end of the stanza despite shooting just 33.3 percent (5-of-15) and committing four turnovers.
Second Quarter
- Liberty held the Ospreys to 20 percent (3-of-15) from the field during the second quarter.
- After being held scoreless during the game’s first 10 minutes, Mya Berkman tallied seven points during the second stanza, including the Lady Flames’ final six. As a result, Liberty was able to take a slim 25-23 advantage into the locker room.
Third Quarter
- North Florida knocked down four triples during the third period, including two apiece by Wesolek and Maddie Millar. That, combined with eight Liberty turnovers, helped the Ospreys go back in front 39-37 heading to the final period.
Fourth Quarter
- Liberty never led during the final period despite scoring 21 points. The Ospreys kept the Lady Flames at arm’s length by tallying 29 fourth-quarter points, including 10 apiece from Millar and Swann.
- North Florida shot 72.7 percent (8-of-11) from the field, 83.3 percent (5-of-6) from three-point range and 66.7 percent (8-of-12) from the foul line over the final 10 minutes of play.
Notes and Nuggets
- Berkman paced the Lady Flames with 13 points, scoring in double figures for the sixth game in a row.
- Bailey’s three triples matched her season high.
- Brown, who led all players with nine rebounds, equaled her season high in that category.
- Williams’ six assists marked her sixth game this season and the 25th of her career with five or more helpers.
- Bella Smuda rejected a season-high three shots for the second game in a row.
- Liberty is now 6-13 when facing ASUN opponents in Florida (0-2 this season) and 50-9 everywhere else (2-0 this season).
- The Lady Flames lost after leading at halftime for the first time this season. They had been 7-0 when taking a lead into the intermission.
- The contest featured five ties and 10 lead changes after the lead had never changed hands during Liberty’s first three ASUN games this season.
Up Next
The Lady Flames will remain in the River City, heading to Jacksonville for a Saturday 1 p.m. tipoff inside Swisher Gymnasium. Liberty will seek its second win over the Dolphins in seven days after posting an 81-66 victory at Liberty Arena on Sunday.
Featured in Main Photo: #22 Jordan Bailey
