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Lady Bucs succumb to Ospreys

By Wes Holtsclaw

JOHNSON CITY — A scrappy, improved second half effort gave East Tennessee State’s women a shot. It wouldn’t cover a dismal first-half stretch.
After turning a 13-point first-half deficit into a lead, the Lady Bucs were outlasted by Ki Conner and North Florida 62-56 in Saturday’s Atlantic Sun tilt at MSHA Athletic Center.
“Kind of a frustrating and disappointing outcome to the game,” said ETSU coach Karen Kemp. “I felt like we played hard for at least 30 minutes of the game. We came out with a lot of energy then we kind of went flat and could’ve easily hung our heads, but we fought hard.
“I felt like if we ever got that lead, that was all we needed. We couldn’t hold on to it. We just came up a little short.”
Conner, who hit four threes in the first half, finished with a game-high 23 points for North Florida (9-10, 5-3). Raneisha Lamar added a 12-point, 12-rebound double-double.