Lady ‘Cats upset UNF

The Peach Belt Conference basketball doubleheader between Georgia College & State University and the University of North Florida, at the Centennial Center, Wednesday night could best be described by one word: payback.
The teams from both schools traded in a big way, as each team avenged earlier losses to the other. The Lady Bobcats avenged a Jan. 21 road loss to UNF by downing the 12th ranked Lady Ospreys 63-46, while the North Florida men earned the split by downing the Bobcats in the nightcap 71-52. That win avenged a 75-70 loss to GC&SU in Jacksonville, Fla. last month as well.
The women’s game proved to be a see-saw battle for much of the first half, as GC&SU (16-4, 5-4 Peach Belt Conference) led 24-23 before scoring its last eight points to take a 31-23 advantage into the lockerroom. The start of the second half saw the Lady Ospreys (17-3, 6-3) briefly trim the lead to 33-27, with 17:43 to go before the Lady Bobcats turned up the heat over the next four minutes, outscoring UNF 12-4 during that span to widen the margin to 45-31. North Florida narrowed the gap to eight points on several occasions, the last time at 54-46 with 2:22 remaining.
The visitors couldn’t get any closer, as GC&SU managed to score the game’s last nine points to hand UNF back-to-back losses for the first time this season. The Lady Ospreys lost 57-52 at Lander on Jan. 31.
Juniors Kirsti Jones and Latia Love provided the bulk of the offense for the Lady Bobcats, with Jones who lead the way with 11 points, while Love added 10. Antionette Long provided more punch both on the boards and in scoring, as she finished with nine points and eight rebounds. Alicia Porter shared the load in the rebounding department with Long, finishing the game with eight rebounds and four points.
A solid shooting performance in the second half sparked GC&SU as well, with the Lady Bobcats shooting 11 of 23 for 47.8 percent. Overall, GC&SU made 20 of 55 shots for 36.4 percent. Meanwhile, UNF had one of its worst shooting nights of the season, making just 18 of 58 shots for 31 percent and, even worse, scoring one of 15 from beyond the arc. The Lady Bobcats also held one of the PBC’s best players, Skye Barber, to just 14 points.

Men

The men’s game got off to a rough start for Georgia College & State University, as the Bobcats fell behind 13-0. To make matters worse, Head Coach Terry Sellers received a technical foul for apparently arguing a questionable call just over two minutes into the game. GC&SU (6-14, 3-6) finally scored with 14:22 left in the first half on a three-pointer by Stephone Washington. The Bobcats eventually narrowed the gap to 32-28 by halftime.
The second half started with a successful two pointer by Kevin Benn, narrowing the deficit 32-30 just 23 seconds into the frame. However, UNF (11-9, 3-6) held GC&SU to one free throw over a span of 6:19, as the Ospreys built a 43-31 lead. A trey by Duke Gibbs ended the drought with 13:18 to go, reducing the UNF lead to 43-34. Moments later, a steal by Tylan Gatling, followed by a Gibbs lay-up, pulled GC&SU to 47-41 with 9:40 remaining. Then another three-pointer by Gatling put the Bobcats closer at 49-44 with 9:03 left in the game. North Florida managed to pull away down the stretch, outscoring the Bobcats 22-8 to win their second straight game after having lost nine in a row.
Sellers said that losing at home was a bitter pill to swallow.
“This was a tough loss,” he said. “We’ve been playing better, but we didn’t play well tonight, and (UNF) had a lot to do with that.”
Sellers also said defense, or lack thereof for GC&SU, played a key role in the Bobcats’ loss.
“They played extremely well,” he said of UNF. “(UNF) dominated our inside players, and that was the story as far as our defense.”
Both teams now face another critical road trip this weekend, as GC&SU travels to Augusta State on Saturday before returning home next Wednesday to host Columbus State. The women’s game starts at 5:30, followed by the men’s game at 7:30 p.m.

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Feb 6 2004. Filed under Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry