JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Destinee Smith hit a 3-point field goal with five seconds remaining to lift the University of North Florida women's basketball team to an 81-79 victory over Northern Kentucky University in double-overtime on Thursday in Atlantic Sun Conference action at UNF Arena.
 
North Florida, which improved to 10-9 overall and 1-3 in the Atlantic Sun, took a 75-74 lead when Bailey Florin hit one of two attempts from the free throw line to start the second overtime, and the two teams struggled to score over the next three minutes before Rianna Gayheart drained a straight-on 3-pointer to put NKU ahead, 77-75, with two minutes left to play.
 
Melody Doss hit two free throw attempts to stretch the Norse lead to 79-75 with 25 seconds remaining, but a Smith 3-pointer on the other end of the court brought the Ospreys to within one (79-78) with just over 13 seconds on the clock. NKU, which fell to 11-8 on the year and 2-2 in the Atlantic Sun, did not connect on a pair of attempts from the charity stripe on its next possession, setting the stage of Smith's game-winning shot.
 
Smith led the way for North Florida, pouring in 19 points and dishing out six assists.  Florin scored 18 points on 6-for-13 shooting from the floor and 4-for-8 from behind the 3-point arc, while Paulina Zaveckaite added her seventh double-double of the season with 13 points and 12 rebounds.
 
NKU took a 31-28 advantage into the locker room at the halftime break, but UNF used an 8-0 run to take its first lead of the game at 40-37 with 14:28 remaining.  Christine Roush ended the Ospreys spurt with a layup on the next Norse possession before she heated up from behind the 3-point arc.
 
Roush hit her second 3-pointer of the game to tie the contest at 42-all with 13:43 left in regulation.  After a basket by Destinee Smith and a trey from Florin, Roush hit back-to-back long range shots to give NKU a 48-47 advantage with just under 12 minutes on the clock.
 
Florin put the Ospreys back on top, 50-48, on their next possession, before adding her third trey to stretch North Florida's advantage to five (53-48) with 8:30 on the clock. The Norse cut the lead to one on a pair of free throws from Roush and a Kaitlyn Gerrety layup, but Florin answered once more with a 3-pointer, putting the Ospreys ahead 56-52 with 6:49 left in the game.
 
Roush brought the game even for the ninth time of the night with another basket from long range with 58 seconds remaining, but a Smith jumper pushed the Ospreys back out in front, 64-62.  After the Norse came up empty from the free throw line, they sent Brittany Wright to the charity stripe.  Wright made both attempts, but a lane violation erased the second attempt as the Ospreys held a slim 65-62 lead with just 19 seconds left.
 
NKU's long range attempt on its next possession just missed the mark, but Wright missed the front end of a one-and-one and the Norse pulled down the rebound.  Gayheart fed the ball to Roush, who knocked down her sixth trey of the night at the buzzer to send the game into overtime.
 
The two teams traded baskets to open the first overtime period, and Kasey Uetrecht put NKU back on top, 70-67, with a 3-pointer from the top of the key with 3:48 remaining. A pair of Maiya Rumph baskets sandwiched a Roush layup to pull North Florida to within one (72-71) at the 2:26 mark.
 
Florin hit a jumper while being fouled to regain the Ospreys' lead, and she converted the free throw to put North Florida ahead, 74-72, with 38 seconds remaining.  Uetrecht tied the game with a layup in the paint on the next possession, and the Norse defense held off the Ospreys to force the second overtime.
 
Roush paced NKU with 28 points on 9-for-16 shooting from the floor, including 4-for-8 from long range.  Doss notched her third double-double of the year with 18 points and 10 rebounds to go along with six assists, three blocked shots and one steal. Gayheart rounded out the double-figure scorers for the Norse with 13 points, four rebounds, two assists and two steals.
 
The Ospreys finished with a 51-42 advantage in rebounds and shot 41.4 percent (29-for-70) from the field. NKU went 26-for-71 (.366 percent) from the field and knocked down 13 3-pointers on the night.
 
NKU stays in Jacksonville to wrap up the weekend on Saturday as the Norse face Jacksonville at 2 p.m. in Swisher Gymnasium.  Links to live stats and the ESPN3 broadcast are available at NKUNorse.com.  Fans can also follow @NKUNorseGameDay on Twitter for in-game updates as well.