JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Although they held the lead at halftime, the Jacksonville University women's basketball team suffered a 70-64 loss at the hands of ASUN Conference and crosstown rival North Florida, Monday evening at Historic Swisher Gymnasium.

While both teams had a trio of players score in double figures, it was a 42-38 disparity in rebounds that made the different as North Florida (10-8, 3-2 ASUN) put up 18 second-chance points to JU's nine.

"We got killed on the glass. One of the keys was to defend and rebound, and UNF had 18 second chance points alone," noted head coach Darnell Haney. "We didn't rebound the ball like we needed to. We had opportunities to do that and we did not. Because we didn't take care of those keys, we lost.

"Hats off to North Florida for getting in and doing what they had to do to get a W, but we have to rebound the basketball. When we lock in on keys and lock in on who people are, scout-wise, when we do that, we're going to be good. It takes a want to, and us just digging deep, getting loose balls, and getting rebounds that we're supposed to get."

Redshirt-senior Shakayla Nevitt poured in 10 of the Dolphins' 15 first quarter points, with a pair of three-pointers (8:17, 6:25) and a pair of jumpers (7:11, 3:43) to spark JU's offense early. The Dolphins (10-8, 2-3 ASUN) ended the quarter on a seven-point run with back-to-back baskets from sophomore Destiny Marshall (1:20, 0:52) to hold a 15-8 lead. For her efforts, Nevitt earned Hodges Mazda Player of the Game. 
 

The visitors used a 15-6 run to take a slight 23-21 lead midway through the second at 4:56. Finding their stride after the media timeout, the Dolphins strung together a 9-2 rally to regain the lead. Freshman Da'Nasia Shaw broke up UNF free throws down the stretch with a three-pointer (0:46) as JU held a 33-31 lead at halftime.

Jacksonville controlled the third quarter, as an 8-0 Dolphin run with a layup from Nevitt (7:07) and a pair of treys from Shaw (6:20, 4:58) gave JU their largest lead of the game, 45-36, with 4:23 showing. As UNF countered with an 8-2 rally, Jacksonville finished the quarter with the lead, 52-50.

While the teams traded the lead in the early minutes of the final quarter – UNF took the lead on a layup from Janesha Green at 8:00 before JU retook the lead on a Marshall jumper 53 seconds later – things ultimately swung in favor of the visitors. UNF closed out the game with a 7-0 run, including a 5-of-6 streak at the free throw line, to steal the game, 70-64.

Nevitt finished the day with a team-high 22 points, while Marshall (17 points) and Shaw (12 points) also recorded double digits. With eight rebounds each, Marshall and Meeks controlled the boards for the Dolphins, and Perry added six boards and four blocks to contribute defensively.

Green led the Ospreys with 22 points, while Bond (14 points, 12 rebounds) and Dasha Eremeeva (15 points, 11 rebounds) posted double-double performances. The loss snaps Jacksonville's 14-game win streak over the Ospreys dating back to 2013.

Added Haney, "This weekend, we have another team that likes to rebound the ball. What we do is rebound the basketball and we're not doing that at a high-level right now. When we expect the ball to just come to us and have people let us rebound, it's not going to happen. We have to box out and rebound the basketball. We have to keep working, move forward, and get ready for this road trip. We're in conference play now; it's go time."

The Dolphins return to action this weekend when they visit Kennesaw State (Jan. 25) and Lipscomb (Jan. 27).