JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - In a game with seven ties and 10 lead changes, a courageous shot by Isamery Telleria led the Jacksonville women's basketball team (4-5) to a comeback win over MEAC foe NC Central (3-6) Monday night in Swisher Gymnasium. 

Telleria tied with Edyn Battle in the lead for all Dolphin scorers with 14 points and added five rebounds. Telleria went 3-of-6 from behind the arch including two game-changing threes to solidify the win for JU. Battle recorded a season high of five assists and added six rebounds. The Dolphins had three women in double figures, and three additional women one point away from double-digit scoring. 

For the first time in history, Jacksonville University and North Carolina Central faced off in a brawl. The initial flow of the game resembled the unfamiliarity of the two schools. Scoring started off slowly as they gradually felt out each other's tendencies, though both sides were intentional from the first whistle. Right off the tip, a connection between Dolphins' two leading scorers, Battle and Craig, helped JU gain an early two-point lead. Neither team was shy to shoot, and a spiraling exchange of buckets saw a 6-5 lead for JU, thanks to a full-court assist from Jalisa Dunlap to Battle with 7:00 remaining. A stretch of free-throws allowed the Dolphins to gain a 10-7 lead as the first media timeout sounded. After a three-minute stall in scoring, Craig broke the deadlock, giving the home team a 12-7 lead with 2:00 outstanding. The Dolphin defense controlled the opening quarter, keeping North Carolina Central to zero points in the final five minutes, giving JU a 14-7 lead by the end of the quarter. 

NC Central attempted to climb back, but a free-throw line pull-up jumper by Battle and a heavily contested layup by Dunlap helped JU maintain a five-point lead of 18-13 with 6:18 on the clock. A sudden 6-0 run by the Eagles' guard Kyla Bryant gave them a temporary lead of 21-18. Battle then responded, sinking the Dolphins first three of the night to tie the game up at 21-21 as the clock counted down from 4:30. Zaria Blake, in her first appearance, helped the green and white regain control of the night with three quick points. Continuing to build on the momentum, Battle kept it rolling with another sweet jumper following a three by Bre' Yanna Frazier. Undoubtedly, by halftime, despite Dolphins building a 30-24 lead with 2:52 left, the Eagles balanced the count yet again at 30-30. 

The Eagles opened the third with a 5-0 run that was broken on a dagger by Telleria. The game proceeded to an 8-5 run in the first three minutes for the Eagles, forcing JU to climb from a 34-41 hole. After an electrifying block by Craig, the Dolphin offense saw some light and rewrote the score 40-43 with 5:00 left. By the next media timeout, a trade-off of buckets saw the Dolphins only down one, 48-49, thanks to a bomb from deep left corner by Frazier and a couple spectacular drives and finishes by Battle and Telleria. With 10 seconds remaining in the quarter, the Eagles benefited from a close call that rewarded them with three free-throws. After the Eagles made only 2-of-3, Battle was fouled immediately. Her split pair at the line sent the game to the fourth with a count of 49-53 NCCU. 

In just under a minute, an unfortunate series of events resulted in Dolphins leading scorer Battle going down and eventually having to sub out. However, Dolphin Basketball rolled on as Telleria Knocked down her second three to make the count 54-57. North Carolina Central still took advantage and created a 64-57 lead with 5:24 left to play. Right on time, Jalisa Dunlap sank a triple to shorten the deficit to four, and the Dolphin defense did the rest. Freshman Sana'a Garrett timely pick-pocketed a steal, and JU went on to outscore the Eagles 7-0. Telleria knocked down her third triple to give the Dolphins a 68-67 lead. In favor of the Dolphins, the Eagles picked up a technical team foul to send 93 percent free-throw shooter Garrett to the line. Garrett, as expected, knocked down two and concluded the game 70-67 for the JU victory. 

UP NEXT 

The Dolphins stay at home this week and will face Marshall Friday, December 15. The game is set to tip-off at 6:00 p.m. and will be live streamed on ESPN+. 

NOTEABLE NUMBERS 

• After missing eight games Zaria Blake scored her first points on the year 

• Jacksonville bench outscored NC Central bench 17 to eight 

• JU converted 18 points off turnovers 

• Dolphins won the free-throw battle 23 to 10