JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Despite a 16-point first half performance, the Bethune-Cookman women's basketball was able to outscore the North Florida Ospreys 37-to-27 in the second half, for a 53-49 road victory, Friday, Nov. 25 in Jacksonville.

“I think for us today was about defining who we are going to be this season,” said head coach Vanessa Blair-Lewis. “We wanted to start putting out mark in the sand about who we are going to be.

“Tonight we struggled to find a basket in the first half, but they kept together, played together, and at the end of the game our rebounding and fast break was able to garner us points.”

Both teams remained scoreless for nearly four minutes during the opening quarter as the Wildcats broke the drought at the 6:42 mark with a bucket from Kendra Cooper.

UNF was held without a field goal until 4:28 in the first, when a Kadesia Johnson layup knotted the score at three.

The Ospreys took their first lead of the game on a three-ball from Sierra Shepherd and was able to hold on to the 11-10 advantage at the end of the quarter.

During the second stanza the Wildcats were outscored 11-6, allowing UNF to take a 22-16 lead into the locker room.

At the intermission B-CU was only shooting 21.4 percent from the field, 15.4% from deep and 50.0% from the charity stripe.

The Wildcats used the break to shift the offensive momentum in their favor, as a Kailyn Williams lay-up opened the second half, B-CU down 22-18.

The Ospreys pulled ahead by as many as nine, before the Wildcats went on a 7-0 run, led by two Cooper three balls, cutting the UNF lead to two at the 5:34 mark.

Another Cooper bucket from deep as the third half time expired gave B-CU the 36-35 lead heading into the final period.

Four more tied scores happened during the fourth, before Cooper's sixth three ball of the night gave B-CU the 52-49 advantage and a Williams's foul shot with nine seconds left to play pushed the lead to four.

Jasmine Knowles stole a UNF possession as time expired, giving the Wildcats the 53-49 victory over the tournament host.

During second half play B-CU improved to a 41.2% shooting from the field and 42.9% from behind the arc.

Cooper led the B-CU offensive effort with 20 points, shooting 7-for-21 from the field and 6-for-14 from downtown.

Williams added a double-double for the 'Cats collecting 10 points and 12 board for B-CU, while Knowles chipped in seven points and five assists.

The Wildcats return to the hardwood, Saturday, Nov. 28, wrapping up the UNF Thanksgiving Tournament, facing Western Illinois at 1 p.m.