Tenth-ranked Florida failed to score a point during the final three minutes of the game and lost 72-59 battle to fourth-ranked Georgia in Stegeman Coliseum. The loss dropped the Lady Gators to 13-2 overall, 2-1 in the Southeastern Conference, while the Lady Bulldogs improved to 14-2 overall, 2-0 in league play.
"We had a good conference battle tonight. We played real hard, but not real smart all the time," UF head coach Carol Ross said. "Any time you go on the road you have got to take care of the basketball and we didn't do that tonight."
Florida turned the ball over 20 times, while shooting a season-low 33.3 percent (22-of-66) from the field, including a mere 14.3 percent (4-of-28) from beyond the arc.
With Florida leading 33-30 at halftime, Georgia opened the second half with a 16-6 run - Kelly Miller scoring 10 points during the spree for the Lady Bulldogs - to give Georgia a 47-39 lead with 12:31 remaining in the game. Brandi McCain answered with a layup and Monique Cardenas put back an offensive rebound to stop the run and cut Georgia's lead to four, 47-43. Georgia added four points, but Florida went on a 10-2 run with scoring from four different players to tie the game at 53-all with 6:48 remaining.
Georgia's Tameiko Washington put back two short offensive rebounds as the Lady Bulldogs refused to surrender the lead. But Brandi McCain and Sherisha Hills hit back-to-back three-pointers to give Florida a 59-57 lead with 3:07 remaining. Unfortunately, those would be the last points the Lady Gators would score during the SEC battle as the Lady Bulldogs rattled off the final 15 points of the game for the win.
But Georgia's Christy Thomas tied the game at 2:45 with a short jumper and Coco Miller hit a quick eight-foot jumper from the right baseline to give UGA the lead with 2:05 to go. Thomas then converted a pair of free throws to give the Lady Bulldogs a 63-59 lead with 1:29 on the clock.
"Georgia had some offensive rebounds that they put back in for easy points and gave them the lead late in the game," Ross said. "Those points ignited the crowd and the rest was history."
Florida was led by Brandi McCain's 13 points, while freshman Vanessa Hayden chipped in 11. Point guard Tombi Bell grabbed a career-high 13 rebounds and scored eight points with six assists in 37 minutes of action. Naomi Mobley added 12 rebounds with eight points.
Georgia's Kelly Miller led all scorers with 28 points and nine rebounds in 38 minutes of play. Christi Thomas added 14 points with nine boards and Coco Miller chipped in 10 points.
Florida took a 33-30 halftime lead and scored the first two points of the second half, but Georgia's Kelly Miller scored the game's next five points to tie the game at 35-all. UF's Naomi Mobley hit an eight-foot jumper in the lane, but Kelly Miller hit another bucket to even the score again. Florida turned the ball over on its next two possessions, but Georgia couldn't capitalize until Kelly Miller hit a pair of free throws with 14:45 to give the Lady Bulldogs their first lead since scoring the first two points of the game.
In the first half, Georgia scored the game's opening points from the free throw line, but UF's Tombi Bell scored the next four points to give the Lady Gators a short-lived 4-2 lead. Deanna Nolan hit the Lady Bulldog's first field goal at the 16:31 mark to tie the game. Brandi McCain answered with a long jumper to give Florida the lead for the rest of the first half and entered the locker room with a 33-30 advantage.
Both teams traded baskets for the first seven minutes of the game until Monique Cardenas' running jumper sparked a 8-0 Florida run and the Lady Gators assumed a 22-12 lead with 10:17 remaining in the first half. Georgia countered with two buckets to bring UF's lead down to six, 22-16, but post players Vanessa Hayden and Naomi Mobley responded to put the Lady Gators back up by 10. With Florida leading 28-18 with 6:12 to go, Georgia rambled off a 12-5 run to close the half.
The Lady Gators have a one-week break before playing their next game, when they open their SEC home schedule with a January 18 battle against Auburn in the O'Connell Center.
