By: by Jason Hanes
Box Score
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Playing their first Atlantic Sun Conference road game of the season, the Kennesaw State Lady Owls fell to North Florida, 68-51, on Saturday afternoon at UNF Arena. Angie Smith led the Lady Owls with 16 points and a game-high nine rebounds.
KSU (4-8, 1-2) led 12-10 after an Ashley Holliday 3-pointer with just over 13 minutes to go in the first half. That would be the last lead of the game for KSU as the Ospreys went on a 13-0 run to take a 23-12 lead with nine minutes left in the opening half. UNF (4-8, 1-2) would exert its presence on the interior, outscoring KSU 22-4 in the paint en route to an 11-point halftime lead, 33-22.
The Lady Owls would get no closer than 10 in the second half, as the Ospreys shot 15-of-25 from the field in the final 20 minutes. Trailing 52-39 with nine minutes to go in the game, the Lady Owls saw UNF go on a 10-0 run to extend the lead to its biggest of the contest at 23, 62-39. Down 65-44, the Lady Owls would score seven straight points to cut the deficit to 14, but a 3-pointer by Jadkhen Kerr, who scored 12 points on 3-pointers, just before the buzzer accounted for the final score of 68-51.
Smith led the Lady Owls in scoring and grabbed a career-high eight offensive rebounds. Gia Lockett had 14 points and a team-best four assists for the Lady Owls. Smith and Lockett combined to make 11 of KSU's 15 shots from the field.
Brittany Kirkland had a game-high 21 points for the Ospreys. Juliemay Syquio had 12 points and eight rebounds but committed 12 of UNF's 27 turnovers.
KSU will return to action Monday afternoon when the Lady Owls take on Jacksonville University. Tipoff is scheduled for 5 p.m.
