On Saturday, the women’s basketball team saw its four-game winning streak come to an end, losing, 77-71, to the North Florida Ospreys.
The Owl’s recent loss came after a, 66-62, victory over the Jacksonville Dolphins on Thursday. That win guaranteed the Owls a playoff spot for their third year in a row. The loss to the Ospreys however, will see the Owl’s switch spots with them in the Atlantic Sun Conference rankings.
The now 13-14 (8-8 A-sun) Owl’s fall to 5th place in the A-Sun standings, and the 12-16 (9-8 A-sun) Ospreys move up to the 4th spot, leading the Owls by half a game.
The Owls were able to come back when down by large deficits to the Osprey, trailing by 21 points in the first half and cutting it to 13 by halftime.
Early in the second half, the Owls cut the Osprey lead down to six but they would not come closer than that for the remainder of the game. Freshman Kristina Wells scored a career-high 19 points in the contest.
“We came in a little nervous but we have to play our game,” said Wells. “You know we had the same record as them, they came in wanting the same thing that we wanted, but at the end of the game they must have just wanted it more.”
Wells, who appeared to suffer two separate injuries in the loss, never gave up as an injured Ashley Holliday was unable to come off the bench to back her up.
“I fell on my wrist, but I had to shake it off, I’m not gonna let my team down,” said Wells.
Head Coach Colby Tilley was proud of his Owls, despite the loss. “They played a great second half, our problem was we just couldn’t get any boards, they were just out-rebounding us 2-1,” said Tilley. “Every time we went on a run they would come back, it’s just a tough night for all of us. I credit our kids they never gave up, they kept working hard. It’s just one of those days.”
With the A-Sun playoffs quickly approaching, the Lady Owl’s will come home for their two last games of the regular season. The first of the two last home games will be this Thursday at 4:45 p.m. when the Lady Owls host the A-Sun’s 3rd place team, Belmont (10-6 A-Sun). The Owls lost to Belmont on the road back on Dec. 1, 2011, falling 55-57.
