The 16th-ranked Florida women's basketball team tied a program by winning its ninth consecutive game to open a season with Wednesday's 79-30 victory over Chicago State (1-9). The 1995-96 Lady Gator team also won its first nine games, as did the 1983-84 and 1984-85 squads.
The Lady Gator's look to break the all-time record on Friday, when the team plays the University of Colorado at 7 p.m. MT (9 p.m. ET) in Boulder.
"This was a win, that is about all I can say about this one," UF head coach Carol Ross said. "I was disappointed with our team's lack of pride. We were extremely sloppy. We missed some very makable shots and that's because of our lack of focus. We really should have dominated Chicago State a lot more than we did. We're just lucky they weren't able to make us pay for our mistakes."
Florida played its sloppiest game of the year, committing a season-high 26 turnovers in the win, however, the team's margin of victory was still its largest of the year. Chicago State turned the ball over 34 times and shot just 24 percent (12-of-50) during the game. Florida outrebounded the Cougars 61-26.
Senior Tamara Stocks (Pickerington, OH) scored a season-high 19 points in the win, as nine of 10 Lady Gators chipped in offensively.
Junior Naomi Mobley (Jacksonville, FL) tallied her third double-double of the year and the 17th of her career as she recorded 18 points with 16 rebounds in the win. Junior Brandi McCain chipped in 12 points, while freshman Vanessa Hayden (Orlando, FL) collected 12 rebounds with seven points.
Four Cougars shared the team-high of five points in the loss.
Both teams started tonight's a bit sloppy with each squad turning the ball over on its first two possessions, but once Florida started to heat up, the Lady Gators scored the first 14 points of the game en route to a game- opening 29-2 run. Chicago State scored its first points 6:10 into the game and didn't score again until for another six minutes.
In the decisive first half, Stocks led all scorers with 10 points, as six different Lady Gators ripped the nets taking a 35-12 halftime lead. The Cougars ended the half on an 8-2 run, but had already dug themselves a deep hole. Florida forced the Cougars into 19 first-half turnovers, as the hosts struggled from the floor, shooting just 20.8 percent on 5-of-24. The Lady Gators shot 38.7 percent in the opening half, but hit just 1-on-11 from the three-point line.
