With four seconds left in a tie game between the University of North Florida and Campbell, no time-outs left for the Ospreys, and 94 feet to go in the championship game of the North Florida Invitational on Nov. 29 at UNF Arena, there was only one play to be made.
University of North Florida junior guard Alonya Waldon did the honors.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementWaldon took an inbounds pass from junior forward Karyzma Pierre after Campbell's Jasmine Felton made the two tying free throws, dribbled down the right side and broke to the center of the court.
University of North Florida junior guard Alonya Waldon (right) is greeted by teammate Dezuray McGill, a freshman forward, after Waldon hit a buzzer-beating 3-pointer from the logo to give the Ospreys a 56-53 victory over Campbell on Nov. 29 in the championship game of the North Florida Invitational, at UNF Arena.With Felton on her left and Ashleigh Battle of the Camels on the right, Waldon took one step beyond midcourt, planted her left foot on the "e" of the words "Ospreys" under the university logo, and launched an off-balance shot that hit the back of the rim and banked into the net for a 56-53 victory and the tournament championship.
"What a big-time shot," UNF coach Erika Lambert said. "We practice those all the time, and it was pretty cool, especially since [Waldon, from Palm Bay] had a big family crowd watching."
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementIt wasn't the first gesture of the holiday weekend from the Waldon family. Waldon's parents, and the parents of director of basketball operations and former player Jayla Adams, hosted a Thanksgiving dinner for the players, coaches, support staff and their families on Nov. 27.
"It was an amazing dinner and then Alonya hit that shot," Lambert said. "We had a great weekend."
UNF has a winning streak
Big picture time: With a 61-57 victory over Bethune-Cookman the day before, UNF (3-4) won two games in a row for the first time in nearly a year, since beating UNC-Asheville and Coastal Georgia on Dec. 14 and 16, 2024.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementLambert is counting on that being a turning point as the Ospreys, who have several "winnable" games, as she put it, coming up on the road at Georgia Southern and UNC-Asheville next week and a home game against Coastal Georgia on Dec. 16.
"It's huge," she said. "We've been working to bring this team together for 2025-26 and ask the question, 'How do we rebrand UNF women's basketball?'"
Ospreys sharing the ball, playing tough defense
How about tenacious? And with only three players back from last year's 5-26 season, add a healthy dose of connectivity.
Six players have led or shared high scorer in seven games and five have been the leading rebounder.
University of North Florida sophomore guard Alexa Washington brings the ball upcourt during UNF's 56-53 victory over Campbell on Nov. 29 in the championship game of the North Florida Invitational, at the UNF Arena.Against Bethune, six players had nine or more points, with freshman guard Abby Knauff, a Bolles graduate, scoring eight of her 11 points in the fourth quarter to help keep the Ospreys ahead after a 47-40 margin entering the fourth quarter dipped as low as three points.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThe Camels led 51-44 with 3:22 left in the championship game but Waldron (17 points) made four foul shots in a row and Jamisyn Stinson hit a 3-pointer with 1:05 left to tie the score 51-51.
Waldron and sophomore guard Alexa Washington each made one free throw to give UNF a 53-51 lead, but Felton tied it with two at the line before the final play.
The Ospreys held Bethune and Campbell to 34.4 percent overall from the floor and 21.2 percent from beyond the 3-point arc. UNF collected 15 steals and five blocked shots in the two games.
UNF learned against 'big dogs'
UNF has played Florida, Georgia, Tulane and South Alabama on the road so far this season and has a game left at Clemson. The Ospreys battled through that early gauntlet and, in their own invitational tournament, displayed an unselfishness that will serve them well.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement"I told the players the first three weeks were going to be really tough," Lambert said. "We played a lot of big dogs and told the girls we needed to come out of that stretch and attack the next three weeks. We learned a little bit about ourselves in each of those [early losses], but I'm really proud of the way the team responded, and our preparation is starting to get where I'd like it to be."
Women: Edward Waters wins SIAC road game
Edward Waters (2-3, 2-2 SIAC): The Tigers won their second conference game in a row by holding off a late Clark Atlanta rally to win 64-61 at L.S. Epps Gym in Atlanta. EWU led 53-39 with 7:33 left but Clark's Joirdyn Smith and Janiah Caples combined for 13 points during a 17-6 run that cut the Tigers' lead to 59-56 inside of a minute to play. Tan Brown, Kaylyn Asberry and Imani Harris then combined to make 5 of 6 free throws in the last 51 seconds. Dian Letaru led EWU with 18 points, Harris had 15, Asberry 10, and Shrica Fowles nine points, 13 rebounds, three steals and three blocks.
Jacksonville (5-1): The Dolphins scored 60 bench points in a 77-56 victory over Georgia Southwestern on Nov. 25 at Swisher Gym. Sophomore guard Mychal White led with 16 points, Mariah Knight had 13, Bailey Burns 12 and Comari Mitchell 12, all as substitutes. Mitchell led with seven rebounds and White had four assists. White has scored 35 points on 11 of 17 shooting with 10 assists and four steals in her last two games.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementFlagler (3-3): Senior forward Marley Smith and sophomore forward Abby Smith (no relation) scored 17 points each in the Saints' 86-75 loss at home to Florida Tech on Nov. 25 in their only game of the week. Senior guard Natalie Herrin added 16 points, eight rebounds and four steals.
Trinity Baptist (3-5): The Eagles were idle last week.
This week's games
Dec. 2: Central State (Ohio) at Edward Waters, 5:30 p.m.; New College at Trinity Baptist, 6 p.m.; Jacksonville at Florida A&M, 6:30 p.m.
Dec. 3: Flagler at Augusta, 5:30 p.m.
Dec. 5: Edward Waters vs. Bethune-Cookman, HBCU Hoops Invitational, ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex, 7 p.m.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementDec. 6: Flagler at Columbus State (Ga.), 1:30 p.m.; Coastal Carolina at Jacksonville, 2 p.m.; North Florida at UNC-Ashville, 2 p.m.; South Carolina-Salkehatchie at Trinity Baptist, 2 p.m.
Dec. 7: Edward Waters vs. Cheyney State or Hampton, HBCU Hoops Invitational, ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex, TBD.
Men: Tigers beat Saints in DII battle
For the first time since 1999, Edward Waters has a winning streak over their NCAA Division II rivals in St. Augustine, Flagler College.
Sophomore guard Joshua Goode of EWU made two free throws with three seconds left and junior guard Camden Andrews of Flagler missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer as the Tigers won 62-59 at the Adams-Jenkins Center on Nov. 25.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementEWU (4-2, 2-0 SIAC) closed the gap on the Saints (3-2) to 11-10 in the rivalry and has won two in a row for the first time since a four-game winning streak over the Saints between 1996-1999.
The Tigers led 55-43 with 7:18 left, but Flagler senior guard Tariq Daughton hit a pair of 3-pointers to lead a 16-5 run, the second coming with 10 seconds left to close the gap to 60-59. Goode then made the free throws to give EWU its final margin.
Junior forward Keshawn Evans led the Tigers with 16 points and 15 rebounds and junior forward Amari Floyd added 13 points. Junior guard Jordan Smith, a Sandalwood graduate, led Flagler (3-2) with 16 points and six rebounds off the bench and freshman guard Melvin Teal had 10. EWU out-rebounded the Saints 47-37 and had nine blocked shots, four by 6-foot-9 junior forward Jahlil Green.
The Tigers dropped another non-conference game on Nov. 29 at home against North Georgia, 65-60. Goode made a foul shot with 57 seconds left to break a 59-59 tie, but North Georgia scored the final six points, four on two free throws each by Chase Champion with 18 seconds left and by Zack Hawkinson with five seconds left. Evans led the Tigers with 16 points and nine rebounds, and Floyd had 14 points, seven rebounds and six assists.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementJacksonville (3-4): The Dolphins split games in the Sunshine Slam Nov. 24-25 at the Daytona Beach Ocean Center. Freshman guard Hayden Wood scored 15 points, junior forward Donovan Rivers had 13 points and six rebounds and junior guard Jaylen Jones had 10 points, six rebounds and four assists in a 69-64 victory over Bethune-Cookman in the first game, which featured eight times and seven lead changes.
Jacksonville University freshman guard Evan Sterck drives against Bethune-Cookman in the Dolphins 69-64 victory on Nov. 24 at the Ocean Center in Daytona Beach, a first-round game in the Sunshine Slam college basketball tournament.The Dolphins went cold from the field the following night in a 68-53 loss to Pacific in the tournament championship game. Sophomore guard Chris Arias, a Providence graduate, was the only JU player in double figures with 10 points as the Dolphins shot 37.3 percent from the floor and 14.3 percent from beyond the arc (2 of 14).
North Florida (2-5): Six players scored in double figures as the Ospreys breezed to a 111-67 victory over Trinity Baptist (4-3) on Nov. 29 at UNF Arena.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementFreshman guard Trey Cady led UNF with 22 points off the bench and senior guard Dalton Gayman had 17 points in only 19 minutes, added seven rebounds. Sophomore guard Kent Jackson, an Episcopal graduate, added 15 points and made 4 of 7 from the 3-point arc. UNF shot 51.4 percent overall and had only eight turnovers, with the Eagles committing 20. Eight of the turnovers were steals, with Jackson leading with three.
Senior guard Diego Fernandez led the Eagles with 15 points, seven rebounds and four assists.
This week's games
Dec. 2: Florida A&M at Jacksonville, 7 p.m.; SIU-Edwardsville at North Florida, 7 p.m.; New College at Trinity Baptist, 8 p.m.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementDec. 3: Trinity Baptist at Embry-Riddle, 7 p.m.; Flagler at Augusta, 7:30 p.m.
Dec. 4: Kentucky State at Edward Waters, 5:30 p.m.
Dec. 6: Jacksonville at Florida International, 2 p.m.; Flagler at Columbus State (Ga.), 3:30 p.m.; Central State (Ohio) at Edward Waters, 5:30 p.m.
Dec. 7: North Florida at Gonzaga, 9 p.m.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Alonya Waldon's logo 3-pointer might be a turning point for UNF Ospreys
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