The 12th-ranked University of Florida women's basketball team committed 26 turnovers and shot just 33.3% (20-of-57) en route to a 61-49 loss to No. 23 Wisconsin in the consolation game of the Paradise Jam played at the University of the Virgin Islands Sports & Fitness Center. The defeat was the second in as many days for the Lady Gators, who fall to 2-2 this season, while the Badgers improved to 2-1.
Southern California (2-2) plays Texas (2-0) in the championship game later this evening.
"Turnovers right away was the key thing that jumped off the stat sheet for us. To be successful, you can't turn the ball over 26 times," UF head coach Carol Ross said. "I was pleased with our overall effort tonight. We knew this team was going to have its growing pains, we just have to fight threw it and not get down on ourselves. We have to find a way to avoid the lulls during a game that we're experiencing."
"Wisconsin did a great job of taking away our transition game and forced us to be patient in our offense," Ross added.
Wisconsin opened the second half on a 10-2 run to build on its 30-19 halftime lead to take a 38-21 advantage with 13:35 remaining in the game. By that time, Florida already had turned the ball over 17 times and was shooting just 33.3% (10-for-34) from the field.
All-American Brandi McCain didn't tally her first points of the game until there was 13:18 remaining the contest, as Wisconsin still led 40-24.
With the Badgers leading 45-26 and 12 minutes remaining in the game, Florida staged a 12-3 run over the next six minutes to close the gap to 10 points (48-38) sparked by a second trey from McCain and a pair of running, spinning floaters in the lane by freshman Tishona Gregory.
Stephanie Rich nailed a trey to stop the Lady Gator run, but Florida responded with buckets from Vanessa Hayden and Monique Cardenas to drop UW's lead to nine (51-42) with 3:35 to go. Jessie Stomski scored the next four points of the game, as the Badgers increased their lead back double-figures.
McCain added another three-pointer and Gregory added one free throw on UF's next two possessions. With time running down, the Lady Gators were forced to foul. Tamara Moore hit a pair, but Gregory hit a trey as UF crawled within eight (57-49) with 52 seconds remaining. Wisconsin went to the line and missed four straight free throws, but collected the offensive rebound following the missed attempts and prevented UF from even having a chance to make another run.
UF's Vanessa Hayden led all scorers with 22 points in addition to 13 rebounds, but committed 10 turnovers in the loss. She was the lone player to notch a double-figure scoring effort. Brandi McCain scored nine points and collected a career-high 10 rebounds for the Lady Gators.
Jessie Stomski scored 17 points for Wisconsin in the victory. She was joined by Emily Ashbaugh's 10 points, as nine different players contributed in the scoring.
Both teams were cold from the floor to start the game, as Florida hit just 1-of-7 and Wisconsin 1-of-8 during the opening 4:19. Each squad started heating over the next four minutes, with Vanessa Hayden hitting a pair of chip shots in the paint and Badgers nailed a couple, including a three-pointer from Leah Hefte, as UF had its first lead, 8-7 at the 12:33 mark. The Lady Gators built on their early lead with Hayden and Trish Patterson netting shots, but the Badgers responded with a pair of three-pointers from Candas Smith and Stephanie Rich to take a 15-14 lead. Emily Ashbaugh and Jessie Stomski followed with outside jumpers, as Wisconsin built a 19-14 advantage with 5:36 to go in the first half. Hayden scored again for Florida, but Ashbaugh answered to maintain the Badger five-point lead (21-16) with 3:05 to go. Hayden scored the Lady Gator's next three points, but Wisconsin closed the half on a 9-0 run capped by a trey from Shawna Nicols at the buzzer to give the Badgers a 30-19 halftime lead.
Florida shot a mere 33.3% (9-for-27) from the floor during the opening stanza and committed 13 turnovers contributing in the 11-point deficit. Brandi McCain, UF's second leading scorer, managed just one shot attempt during the first half. Nine different players tickled the net for Wisconsin, paced by Stomski's eight points.
The Lady Gators continue their seven-game road stretch on Thursday, when Florida travels to Tallahassee for an interstate battle with Florida State. Tip-off is set for 7:00 p.m.
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