Junior
Brandi McCain (Silsbee, TX) nailed one of her five three-pointers igniting a devastating 24-5 run early in the second half leading No. 18 Florida to a 79-58 win over New Mexico in the Baptist Health Systems Orange Bowl Women's Fab Four Basketball Classic. McCain scored a game-high 21 points for the Lady Gators, who extended their season-opening win streak to eight games. New Mexico dropped to 5-4, with all four losses coming against nationally ranked opponents.
"We knew this was going to be a game with two very good defensive teams going at each other tonight so the difference was going to be on the offensive side," UF head coach
Carol Ross said. "Our quickness helped us there. We hit some clutch shots and never let them take the lead."
McCain was one of four Lady Gators who tallied a double-figure scoring effort in the win. Senior
Tombi Bell (Miami, FL) recorded 11 points with a game-high seven assists. Sophomore
Sherisha Hills (Tampa, FL) contributed a season-high 11 points that included a key 5-0 individual run after the Lobos had tied the game late in the first half. Freshman
Vanessa Hayden (Orlando, FL) added 10 points with three steals and two blocks. Junior
Monique Cardenas (Keystone Heights, FL) snared a career-high 10 rebounds in the win.
"We had our inside-outside game working tonight and good things are going to happen to us when we do," Ross said. "We had a lot of people contribute in today's win."
Jennifer Williams led New Mexico with a season-high 13 points. Jordan Adams contributed 12 points, while Molly McKinnon added 10 in a losing effort.
Florida had the rebounding advantage, eventually ending the game with a 43-40 margin. New Mexico shot just 33.9 percent on 19-of-56 for the game. The Lady Gator hit 42.6 percent of their shots during the game.
Both teams began the game showing effects of extended layoffs. During the first four minutes of the game, Florida, playing its first game in eight days, shot 22 percent, hit 2-of-9 from the floor, while New Mexico, which was taking the court for the first time in 13 days, managed just 14.4 percent on 1-of-7 shots. The Lady Gators managed an 8-4 lead at the first timeout but both teams came out firing after the rest. The Lobos hit 3-of-4 shots and UF nailed 4-of-8 over the next four minutes, but retained its four-point lead, 16-12.
The Lady Gators then went on a 9-3 run with four different players contributing to build a 25-15 lead. But New Mexico rallied with a 12-3 run of its own to tie the game at 28-all with 4:23 remaining in the first half. UF sophomore Sherisha Hills (Tampa, FL) hit a three-pointer from the right wing and followed that with a pair of free throws to start a 7-0 swing. UNM's Miranda Sanchez converted a three-point play to bring the difference back to three, 35-31, with 2:46 remaining in the period, but those would be the last points the Lobos would score in the half, as Hills closed with a trey to give the Lady Gators a 40-31 halftime lead.
The Lady Gators don't have a lot of time to rest before their next game, as they travel to the state of Illinois for a Wednesday meeting with Chicago State. New Mexico plays Temple on Friday, December 22.
