RICHMOND, Ky. – Eastern Kentucky dropped a home ASUN contest on Saturday night, falling 78-64 to North Florida in McBrayer Arena.
 
North Florida (9-9, 2-4 ASUN) connected on four of its first five three-pointers of the day to take a 14-7 lead at the 4:14 mark of the first quarter. Baskets from Jayla Johnson and Alice Recanati in the final minute brought EKU within five, 20-15, entering the second quarter.
 
The Colonels (10-9, 3-3 ASUN) cut the deficit to three on a Recanati layup with 7:21 left in the half, but the Ospreys answered with six straight points to go up 30-21 midway through the quarter. EKU was held without a field goal for over six minutes until Emma Hacker drained a triple to make the score 32-26 with 1:10 remaining before intermission. A Bria Bass buzzer-beating three made it a one-score game at the half, 34-31.
 
UNF used a 5-0 run late in the third quarter to extend its lead to 47-39 and held a 49-42 advantage entering the fourth, but the Colonels scored seven of the first nine points of the period to make the score 51-49 with 8:06 to play. North Florida countered with five consecutive points to stretch the lead back to seven at the 6:38 mark. The Ospreys led by 12 with three minutes to play before EKU made one final push. Kayra Freeman netted five points in a span of 19 seconds to cut the lead to 68-62 with 2:09 left in the game, but the Colonels missed four of their next five shots from the field as UNF held on for a 14-point win.   
 
Recanati led the Colonels with 16 points and four assists. Bass, Freeman, and Hacker each scored 10 points, while Hacker added three blocks.
 
EKU shot 21-of-63 (33.3 percent) from the floor, while the Ospreys were 27-of-51 (52.9 percent). UNF held a 36-31 edge on the glass. The Colonels scored 22 points off 23 North Florida turnovers but committed 21 turnovers on the offensive end.
 
The Colonels travel to Florida Gulf Coast on Thursday night for a 7:30 p.m. tipoff.