Junior forward
Naomi Mobley (Jacksonville, Fla./Ed White) was named Most Valuable Player of the State Farm Classic after scoring 15 points with 10 rebounds and leading the 19th-ranked Florida Lady Gators (11-1) to a 66-58 upset victory over the seventh-ranked Rutgers Scarlet Knights (8-2) in the championship game played at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center Friday night. The victory was Florida's 10th consecutive home win and its second win this season over a team from last year's NCAA Final Four. The Lady Gators topped Penn State 92-79 on December 3rd.
"Tonight's game was an outstanding battle between two very good teams," UF head coach
Carol Ross said. "Fortunately, we came out in the second half and played Gator basketball. We were able to run the ball a little more and our post players began dominating the game, especially Naomi (Mobley) and
Vanessa (Hayden)."
The first half was close all the way with neither team able to lead by more than three points until Florida went on a 12-2 run to grab a 23-15 lead late in the half. The Scarlet Knights scored the final five points of the half to make the cut the Lady Gators' lead to 23-20 at the half.
The game remained close in the second half, with neither team able to pull away until Florida reeled off six straight points to lead by 14, 49-35, with 8:27 remaining in the game. The Scarlet Knights got as close as seven, 62-55, with 1:01 left but the Lady Gators held on for the 66-58 victory.
UF was led in scoring by guard
Brandi McCain (Silsbee, Tex./Silsbee), who tallied 16 points. Sophomore guard
Sherisha Hills (Tampa, Fla./Academy of the Holy Names) added 11 points for the Lady Gators.
Rutgers was led by Kourtney Walton's 19 points. Karlita Washington followed with 14 for the Scarlet Knights, who shot just 33.3 percent from the field for the game.
Florida shot a season-low 36.5 percent on 19-of-52 shots, but made 25-of-32 free throws, while Rutgers struggled by hitting just 16-of-29 from the charity stripe.
"We didn't hit our foul shots," Rutgers head coach C. Vivian Stringer said. "If we did, the game would have been closer. If we hit half the ones we missed in the first half, we would have led at halftime."
The Lady Gators return to action on Thursday, Jan. 4, when they travel to Starkville, Miss., to play 18-ranked Mississippi State in the Southeastern Conference opener for both squads.
In the consolation game of the State Farm Classic, the Tennessee State Lady Tigers (2-8) defeated the Ohio University Bobcats (3-8) by a score of 76-69. The Lady Tigers were led by Tamara Washington with 17 points. Krystal Stancil followed with 12 points, while Taurus Pyles and Shavonda Wright added 11 points apiece. Wright led the team with 11 rebounds. Ohio was led by Lori Moorman, who scored a career-high 37 points and grabbed a career-high 15 rebounds. Ronita Whitfield scored 12 points and Heather Laughlin chipped in 10 for the Bobcats.
Joining Mobley on the All-Tournament were Florida's Brandi McCain and Sherisha Hills, in addition to Rutgers' Kourtney Walton, TSU's Angela Hassell and Ohio's Lori Moorman.
Photo images provided by THE GAINESVILLE SUN.
