Getting back in the win column is great, but doing it against your rival is even sweeter. The Jacksonville women's basketball team moved back to .500 on the season with a 63-52 win over the North Florida Ospreys in the first River City Rumble of the season. JU has won the last three editions of the rivalry in women's basketball, and the Dolphins are undefeated against UNF under head coach Special Jennings.

With the win, Jacksonville officially clinched its spot in the ASUN Conference Tournament.

The Dolphins (13-13, 7-7 ASUN) were led by the dynamic duo of senior guard Edyn Battle and sophomore forward Saniyah Craig. Battle finished with a team-high 21 points, and Craig scored 12 points and grabbed a game-high 16 rebounds. She's recorded 12 double-doubles this season and nine in her last 11 games.

North Florida came out swinging in the first half. The Ospreys shot the ball well from beyond the three-point arc and held Jacksonville to 3-15 shooting in the first quarter. Senior guard Priscilla Williams hit a pair of free throws to tie the game for JU at the end of the first quarter. North Florida continued its assault from the perimeter, but Jacksonville's offense had the answers.

Craig relentlessly crashed the boards and dominated the Ospreys down low, but North Florida's offense had enough answers as the visitors led 32-28 at the break.

Despite the halftime score, Jacksonville never wilted. The Dolphins raced out of the break with an eight-nothing run to retake the lead, capped by another Craig bucket. The Ospreys answered with a pair of triples to tie the game, but Battle responded with a long-range effort of her own. Later in the third, Craig pounced on a loose ball to steal away possession, then sophomore guard Sana'a Garrett slipped the ball back to Craig to push JU's lead to eight.

The Dolphins pushed the ball in transition to close out the game in the fourth quarter. Williams and Garrett pushed the ball down the court for quick layups, as the Jacksonville lead pushed into double digits. The Ospreys mustered enough shooting to keep the game within reasonable distance, but the Dolphins held on to an 11-point win over their cross-city rivals.

Game Notes

• The Dolphins have qualified for the ASUN tournament in each season under head coach Special Jennings.
• Jacksonville surpassed its win total and conference win total from last season.
• Craig has double doubles in her last three games, and 15-plus rebounds in each of her last two outings.
• Battle scored at least 20 points for the 13th time this season.
• Jacksonville has won the last three River City Rumbles by an average of more than 13 points per game.

Head Coach Special Jennings
"We shot three for 15 in the first quarter, and we didn't capitalize at first. But in the second half, we finally got it going. We were good enough that we could play defense, sustain and eventually the ball started going in in the second half."

Up Next
As the regular season comes to a close, the Dolphins will stay at Swisher Gymnasium as they host the Bellarmine Knights on Thursday. Tip-off is scheduled for 6:30 PM.