FLORENCE, Ala. (February 22, 2025) – The University of North Alabama women's basketball team dropped a hard-fought 60-50 contest Saturday night against the FGCU Eagles from CB&S Bank Arena, threatening the Atlantic Sun Conference unbeaten until the late moments of the game.
North Alabama hosted the league leaders in the lone season matchup, with UNA giving the Eagles a battle for all four quarters despite missing key players due to injury. The Lions seized momentum first with an early advantage to open, getting out to a 14-10 lead.
UNA started hot from the field, going on a 12-2 scoring run to strike first against FGCU. Senior Charity Gallegos led the efforts to get the scoring started, contributing seven of the 12 points to en route to the fast start. The Eagles answered back for a responding 8-0 run, but two free throws from sophomore Chloe Siegel extended the Lions' advantage heading into the second period.
The defense from North Alabama also started strong, holding FGCU to 4-14 shooting from the floor while juniors India Howard and Jazzy Klinge registered three early blocks combined.
FGCU responded with a 20-point second quarter, but the Lions were in the thick of it down 30-24.
The Eagles held a slight 14-12 advantage in third-quarter scoring, but North Alabama continued to pour on points at an efficient rate.The Lions shot 55.6 percent as team in the third. FGCU provided offense of its own with four three-pointers and extended its lead to 44-36 after three periods.
North Alabama used the beginning of the fourth quarter to close the Eagles' gap, outscoring FGCU 8-4 to trim the deficit to four. Two scores from Gallegos and one each from Criswell and Klinge gave UNA a short spark, but a late 9-2 run from the visitors proved too much to overcome.
The Lions' overall record moved to 12-15 while 7-9 in ASUN play. FGCU remains unbeaten in the league with a 16-0 record, improving the overall record to 25-3 on the season.
North Alabama was led on offense by Gallegos and sophomore Katie Criswell, both finishing 7-15 from the field with 16 and 15 points, respectively. Junior Jazzy Klinge totaled the most rebounds with 10, one off from tying her season-high.
Gallegos contributed a game-high four assists, while junior India Howard led with a game-high six blocks as part of UNA's season-high eight blocks in the contest. The total also tied her career high, originally set against Jacksonville on Feb. 3, 2024.
The Lions' next outing comes on the road in Charlotte, N.C. against Queens Royals with tipoff set for 6 p.m. CT.
For more information on North Alabama Athletics, visit www.roarlions.com and follow UNA Athletics on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
