Jacksonville, FL – Winthrop fell at North Florida by a final score of 55-49 on Wednesday afternoon.
Winthrop (6-6) | North Florida (5-8)
Dec. 20, 2023 | UNF Arena
Winthrop 49, North Florida 55
How it Happened
First Quarter | Winthrop trailed 7-0 more than halfway through the frame before
Leonor Paisana got the Eagles on the board on a layup at the 4:27 mark.
Claudia Clement did the same following a three-pointer by the Ospreys immediately after Paisana's score. Down 14-4 late, consecutive triples by
Ronaltha Marc and Paisana cut it to four before two free throws by North Florida made the score 16-10 in their favor going to the second quarter.
Second Quarter | North Florida scored first but Marc responded with a shot from deep to make it a five-point game a few seconds later. This would be Winthrop's only field goal in the first five minutes of the quarter while the Ospreys scored eight more points following Marc's score, giving them a 26-13 lead. Marc finally ended the drought with a jumper at the 4:31 mark to start a 6-0 run for the Eagles but North Florida scored on a layup just before the half to end the Winthrop run and took a 28-19 lead entering the locker room.
Third Quarter |
Blessing Okoh immediately got the scoring started for both teams with a three-pointer only to have North Florida do the same on the next play and then extended their lead to 12 with 6:46 left on an old-fashioned three-point play. During this time, Winthrop failed to score for four minutes until Okoh hit her second triple of the half to stop a 6-0 run by the Ospreys. North Florida then scored nine of the next 12 points to take a 43-31 lead at the end of three quarters of play.
Fourth Quarter |
Jada Ryce hit one from deep to start the fourth quarter but North Florida scored six of the next 11 points to go up 49-39 with seven minutes left. Following a media timeout, consecutive scores by Okoh and Ryce made it a six-point affair a minute later. After a score by the Ospreys, Ryce then made it 51-45 with a layup on the next play but the Eagles could get no closer as a triple by North Florida immediately thereafter effectively put the game out of reach.
Statistical Standouts (Team)
- Winthrop moves to 604-897 all-time as a program.
- Leonor Paisana is now eight three-pointers away from moving into the Top 10 in school history in career triples.
- Winthrop has made more than 30% of their shots from the field in three straight games.
- Winthrop has made more than 30% of their free throws in every single contest up to this point in the season.
- This is Marc's seventh game this season in double figures in points.
- For Ryce, this was her sixth game this season in double figures in points.
- This was Okoh's second game this season in double figures in points.
- Winthrop shot 36% from the field.
- Three Eagles played more than 30 minutes and scored in double figures.
Statistical Standouts (Individual)
Ronaltha Marc (39 min, 7-13 FG, 17 pts)
Blessing Okoh (33 min, 4-10 FG, 6 rebounds, 11 pts)
Jada Ryce (25 min, 4 rebounds, 10 pts)
Up Next
Winthrop returns to the Sunshine State to take on the Gators of the University of Florida in Gainesville on Sat., Dec. 30 at 3:45 p.m. on SECN+.
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