Game 10: Gophers host North Florida (12-3-24)

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Ignatius L Hoops

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The North Florida Ospreys (2-6) opened the season dropping a 49-119 nail biter at Florida State. Achieving some scheduling balance, North Florida hosted National Christian College Athletic Association Division II member Trinity Baptist for a 146-53 romp. The Ospreys scoring by quarter was 42, 43, 37 and 24. North Florida set several school records including 28 steals. Yes, this game is included in their official stats.

Returning to NCAA competition, North Florida lost their next five games to: Georgia Southern 65-81, at FAU 41-50, at UCF 53-82, at Winthrop 61-71, and Coppin State 61-76. Then they finished their pre-gopher schedule with 79-71 win over Samford. They will arrive at Williams Arena on a win streak.

North Florida is coached by Erika Lambert who is in her second year. Her first season saw the Ospreys finish 3-13 in the ASUN. That was good for 11th in the 12-team league ahead of only Queens College of Charlotte which is transitioning to division 1. After a 9-21 season, Lambert, whose bio said she spent 2014-15 coaching Bethel University in the MJAC, brought in five transfers and a almost new coaching staff. She’s vowed not to miss the ASUN tourney again.

Players of Note:

5’6” senior guard Jazmine Spencer transferred in from Jacksonville State and leads the Ospreys scorers averaging 13 points and 2.3 rebounds in 34.4 minutes.

5’6” senior guard Kaila Rougier averages 9.4 points and 3.1 rebounds in 32 minutes. Versus FAU she had 6 points, 6 rebounds, 6 steals and 2 assists.

I’ll outsource the remainder to a recent First Coast News article.



JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The University of North Florida (UNF) Ospreys entered their second season under head coach Erika Lambert, and while the season was still young, Lambert emphasized the importance of "trusting the process" from the top down.

Lambert overhauled her coaching staff during the offseason, retaining only one coach from the previous year.

"We knew this wasn't going to happen overnight," Lambert said. "To take this program to where we want to be—where we're competing in the top three every season—it's a process, and we're just learning to fall in love with that process."

The Ospreys' roster included six returning players and nine new faces, a mix Lambert believed held potential for significant growth.

"I think the ceiling for this 2024-2025 squad is higher than what we had last year, but it may take us some time to get it together," Lambert said.

One of those new additions, graduate student Grace Hunter, transferred to UNF and quickly embraced Lambert's coaching style.

"I've been part of some very talented teams," Hunter said. "This is probably the most athletic group I've been a part of."

Hunter noted the team's defensive focus this season and its plan to generate points through that intensity.

"We have a lot of athleticism, which is exciting. There's a lot you can do with that," she said. "We've got some snipers from three. Spence and Jamisyn Stinson are great shooters for us, and we have a lot of attackers at the rim."

Lambert expressed excitement about the community witnessing the team's hard work pay off.

"This is a great group," Lambert said. "People love women's basketball because of the accessibility—you get to know the players. I'm telling you, this '24-'25 squad has some really great young women on it. You're going to want your daughters to get to know them."

As of now, the Ospreys stood at 1-5, but fans still had plenty of opportunities to catch them in action. The team was hosting a Thanksgiving tournament, with their next game scheduled for 1 p.m. on Friday in Jacksonville.
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spokesman-recorder.com

Historical Black Gopher basketball greats overlooked in Williams Arena | Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder

Explore the history of Williams Arena, home to the University of Minnesota men's basketball. Learn about the Black Gopher basketball greats who made their mark.
spokesman-recorder.com spokesman-recorder.com
Coming up: “Diva” coming to town – First year North Florida WBB Assistant Coach Gadiva Hubbard will be in town when the Osprey plays at Minnesota Tuesday, Dec. 3. Hubbard played at Minnesota (2017-21). We plan to speak with her and feature her in a future MSR.
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Attendance worse than a local meat raffle or bar bingo night from their ig stories
 

Regardless of the competition it's great to see the shots dropping!
 







Third straight game with 13+ turnovers. As long as they're still winning no one is gonna mind.
 





yes I'd like to place an order for Sunday.. 6 players in double figures would be amazing..
 

I think there were 4 (maybe 5) 3 second lane violations, a ten second call, a five second call and numerous travels keeping the refs on their toes. Plus, there were two long range buzzer beaters.

I'm looking forward to the heightened tension of the Big Ten opener
 

rowdaboat said:
Attendance worse than a local meat raffle or bar bingo night from their ig stories
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Maybe they should start doing meat raffles and bingo during timeouts of these early season cupcake games.
 

It's so basic. Win and they will come. I am posting because I like a winning program (and Grace shooting threes).
 


It's a fun team to watch live. Much deeper team with more athletes that can play than any time in recent memory. Good on the ball defenders, even a deeper bench player like Senden is a good defender. The defense should be an area the Gophers can lean on this year to generate transition offense if shots don't fall. Gophers are so blessed to have added Tori Mckinney, all the kids that go other places get a lot of hype, but wow is that younger player fun to watch play basketball, a lot of talent, effort and skill. Woodsen a much better ball handler than I realized, and a good shot, she will help a lot in Big 10 play. Instead of being an iron 5 or 6 or 7, team will be able mix the line-up with 4 to 5 more players. Looking forward to Sundays game against Nebraska.
 
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I felt bad for that student who was the sideline reporter on B1G+ last night for the game. She was clearly nervous as heck and forgot everything she was supposed to say every time the PBP crew handed it down to her.
 

GameDay said:
I felt bad for that student who was the sideline reporter on B1G+ last night for the game. She was clearly nervous as heck and forgot everything she was supposed to say every time the PBP crew handed it down to her.
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However, I have noticed a vast improvement in the student play-by-play this year. They are more direct and less flowery.
 

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