Jacksonville University women use defense as the catalyst in topping Stetson 63-51
Defense leads JU women over Stetson
Defense did the trick for the Jacksonville University women’s basketball team on Wednesday.
The Dolphins harassed Stetson into 23 turnovers and outscored the Hatters 18-3 in points off turnovers on the way to a 63-51 victory at Swisher Gym.
JU (8-5, 1-1) has now doubled its victory total from last season and matched its number of conference victories.
DeShari Graham had 17 points, five rebounds and three steals to lead the Dolphins, who took charge with an 11-0 run late in the second quarter, then outscored the Hatters (8-8, 1-2) 11-2 over the last 4:24 of the game. Stetson was 1 of 7 from the floor and had five turnovers during that span.
Taylor Hawks had 16 points and made 8 of 10 free throws for JU and Shynia Jackson added 16 points and seven rebounds. Tatiana Streun led Stetson with 14 points.
UNF stays winless in ASUN
The University of North Florida was buried under a 17-4 third-quarter run by Liberty on the way to a 61-50 loss at the Vines Center in Lynchburg, Va., keeping the Ospreys winless in the ASUN after they were picked second in two preseason polls.
UNF (7-8, 0-3) led 19-15 after the first quarter and 28-25 at halftime. However, the Flames (15-1, 3-0) used a balance offense to go ahead in the third period, scoring the last 13 points of the third quarter to take a 43-32 lead into the fourth.
The Ospreys closed it to 50-46 with 4:14 left on Summah Evans’ 3-pointer but Liberty went on a closing 11-5 run, with four players contributing. Dee Brown had two baskets and led Liberty with 15 points.
UNF, playing without ASUN defensive player of the year Jazz Bond because of an injury, was led by Rhetta Moore with 13 points and Jaida Bond with 12. Evans had 10 points and seven rebounds.
Flagler slips past GSW
Flagler College lost a big early lead, then came from behind with a steady parade to the foul line as the Saints beat Georgia Southwestern 65-62 in a Peach Belt Conference game at Flagler Gym.
The Saints (11-3, 4-1) led 22-9 early in the game but the Hurricanes (4-8, 0-3) battled back to take a 59-57 lead with 2:09 left on Dontevious Tatum's basket. Flagler regained the lead for good when Chris Metzger made a pair of free throws and they stayed ahead when Jaizec Lottie and Derrick Ellis Jr., each made two foul shots inside the final 10 seconds.
The Saints made 8 of 8 free throws in the final 1:53 after making only 3 of 9 before that.
Flagler won despite Lottie (23.8 points per game) being held to eight, on 3 of 13 shooting. Chase Fiddler provided some clutch shots from the outside, leading the Saints with 14 points off the bench, making 4 of 6 from beyond the 3-point arc. Ellis had 13 points and Metzger 11 points and seven rebounds.
Tatum led GSW with 23 points and Jarrett Adderton had 16.
Tuskegee rallies over Tigers
Edward Waters led 51-49 with less than nine minutes left by Tuskegee senior guard DeShawn Millington scored 12 of his team's points down the stretch in a 74-67 victory over the Tigers at the Chappie James Center in Tuskegee, Ala. EWU (6-11) got 24 points from Kimani Binder on 8 of 11 shooting and 11 points from Jordan Jackson. Millington led Tuskegee (8-7) with 23 points and Martez Jones added 19 points and six rebounds. ... Flagler’s women trailed by as many as 19 points in the fourth quarter and fell to Georgia Southwestern 73-63 in a Peach Belt Conference game at Flagler Gym. Tori Pearce led the Saints (9-6, 3-2) with 20 points, five rebounds and six assists, Jaziana Mathis had 18 points and Amuk Tong added 12 points and nine rebounds off the bench. Ava Jones led GSW (11-2, 3-1) with 20 points.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: DeShari Graham, Taylor Hawks lead Jacksonville Dolphins over Stetson
