The 10th-ranked Florida women's basketball team won a three-point shooting contest against South Carolina as the Lady Gators (15-2, 4-1 SEC) claimed a 97-85 victory in Carolina Coliseum in front of 3,752 fans.
South Carolina (7-11, 3-3 SEC) shot a blistering 14-for-25 from the three-point line, and 51.7 percent from the floor during game. Florida hit 8-of-18 from long range while shooting 53.3 percent from the field.
"South Carolina shot the lights out tonight and for us to withstand that was a great testament to our team," UF head coach
Carol Ross said. "I'm as proud of this team and this win as I have been in a long time."
Florida entered the game with just eight scholarship players after having lost three to ACL injuries this season, including last Thursday's win over Auburn when guard
Sherisha Hills was injured.
The Lady Gators played primarily six players in recording its third road win in league action this season. Eight players saw action, but two of them combined for a total of six minutes.
Brandi McCain broke out of her shooting slump scoring a game-high 29 points, hitting 7-of-14 from beyond the arc.
Tamara Stocks tallied 23 points, while
Naomi Mobley added 20 and
Tombi Bell recorded 15 points with nine assists and four steals.
Tatyana Troina led USC's outside barrage, scoring 26 points, including a 7-for-10 performance from the three-point line. Shaunzinski Gortman followed with 23 points and eight assists, while Teresa Geter added 12 points and Petra Ujhelyi scored 11.
Florida led 44-43 at halftime but South Carolina scored the first bucket of the second half to a quick lead. Brandi McCain countered with a three-point bucket and Naomi Mobley added a short hook shot to take a 49-45 lead. But South Carolina nailed its seventh three-pointer of the game and followed with one free throw to tie the game at 49-all. Florida scored the next three points of the game, but the Lady Gamecocks countered with three consecutive three-pointers to take a 58-52 lead with 14:12 remaining in the game. Over the next four an a half minutes, Florida ripped off a 15-2 run with scoring from four different players to take a 67-60 lead with 9:40 to go. Gortman hit a long jumper to stop the Lady Gator run, but Florida responded with a 7-1 run over the next two minutes capped by McCain's seventh three-pointer of the game to extend its lead to 11 (74-63).
The first half was a three-point shooting contest, with both teams sizzling from beyond the arc. Florida hit 5-for-9, as Brandi McCain sank four of those, while South Carolina downed 6-for-9, as Tatyana Troina nailed four.
UF shot 54.8 percent from the field in the half, while USC hit at a 55.2 percent clip.
The Lady Gamecocks jumped out to a seven-point lead (16-9) with 13:07 remaining in the opening half after Troina nailed a trey. McCain countered with a three-pointer for the Lady Gators as both teams continued to trade three-pointers.
Florida took a short-lived one-point lead (20-19) with 10:29 remaining in the first half after Naomi Mobley completed a three-point play. But Troina tallied yet another trey and Shaunzinski Gortman added a short jumper to give USC a 27-23 lead. Tombi Bell got into the three-point act and hit one from the top of the arc to prevent the Lady Gamecocks from pulling away. Bell's shot came during the stretch when 6-of-7 field goals made by the teams were three-pointers.
South Carolina led 39-35 with 2:21 remaining in the half, but Mobley added a three-point play and Vanessa Hayden contributed a shot jumper to retake the lead, 40-39 with 1:36 to play. Each team traded baskets until Mobley added the final field goal of the period with two seconds remaining to give Florida a 44-43 halftime advantage.
Florida returns to action on Thursday, January 25, when the Lady Gators play host to Providence in a non-conference battle. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.
