Lady Bucs fall to North Florida Osprey in return to Mini-Dome

The ETSU Lady Bucs returned home to the MSHA Athletic Center on Saturday to face the North Florida Osprey.

The Lady Bucs split a two-game road trip through Georgia 1-1, with a win against Kennesaw State and a loss to Mercer before Saturdays contest. The Lady Bucs looked to defend their home court in the first meeting of the season against the North Florida Osprey, after being swept last season.

The Lady Bucs came out ready to go taking the first point of the game but every Buccaneer point was matched in turn by the Osprey.

North Florida continued to press ETSU, forcing bad shots and turnovers, as the Osprey took their first lead early in the game, 9-5 UNF.

“A game like this is frustrating,” said Cara Bowling. “We missed a bunch of easy shots in the game.”

The Lady Bucs continued to trail at the halfway mark of the first half, 15-12, but never let North Florida dominate the game.

The Osprey started to stretch the lead late in the first half, forcing the Lady Bucs to take shots from beyond the arc — something ETSU has struggled with. At the half the Lady Bucs continued to trail North Florida, 29-18.

“We came out with a lot of energy but finished flat in the first half,” said head coach Karen Kemp.

The Lady Bucs fought back to a single-digit deficit and continued to hunt down the Osprey to start the second half. The Lady Bucs finally caught back up on a 10-0 run and tied the game.

The Osprey fought back to retake the lead from the Lady Bucs but ETSU continued to keep the game close. ETSU took their first lead of the game since the opening minutes of the game, 42-40 ETSU.

North Florida answered right back to reclaim the lead from the Bucs on five unanswered points. The Lady Bucs fought back to tie the game and matched every step the Osprey took but could not find the lead.

With time ticking down the Lady Bucs took the lead again as junior Shawn Randall sank a 3-pointer with under five minutes left in the game.

North Florida was down but not out and fought back to tie the game and re-took the lead with two minutes left in the game. ETSU was within two with 14.8 seconds left but were unable to finish the comeback, losing to the Osprey 62-56.

ETSU was led by red-shirt sophomore Serena Clark and sophomore Cara Bowling both with 14 points in the game. Junior Destiny Mitchell added her fourth double-double of the season on a 12-point and 14-rebound effort.

The Bucs as a team went 21 of 71 from the field including 7 of 29 beyond the arc. ETSU continued to struggle to hit free throws, hitting only 7 of 13. The Bucs registered 17 blocks and seven steals during the game.

“We missed too many easy shots and did not make our chances at the free-throw line,” said Kemp.