The second-largest crowd ever to see the No. 18 Lady Gators play at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center and a national television audience saw Florida write the newest chapter in their rivalry with Georgia, as they withstood a second-half Georgia comeback to defeat the No.16 Bulldogs 73-64 in front of 5,065 fans.
Florida's second consecutive victory over a Top-25 team ranked higher than them improves their record to 15-5 (5-2 SEC), while Georgia drops to 14-5 (3-4 SEC).
"It was a typical Florida-Georgia game because we usually jump on them early and they get mad and come back," Florida coach Carol Ross said. "We played well for all the important stats like free throw attempts and blocked shots, and I was proud of the aggression we showed against a big, active team."
Florida out rebounded Georgia 43-35 and shot 61.5% from the line compared to Georgia's 57.1%.
Florida took a 36-19 lead into the half, but Georgia shot 55% from the field to mount their second-half comeback. Georgia was accustomed to trailing at the half, and they came into the game with six second half comebacks this season.
A 16-4 Georgia run trimmed Florida's lead to 49-40 with 12:54 remaining. A Mary Beth Lycett three-pointer cut Florida's lead to four points with just under two minutes remaining, but that was as close as Georgia would get.
Florida led by as many as 21 points in the first half and used scoring runs of 7-0 and 9-0 to distance themselves from Georgia. Florida played tenacious defense, and scored 15 points off nine forced turnovers in the first half.
Center Vanessa Hayden and forward Monique Cardenas led the Gators with 19 points each. Hayden blocked five shots to extend her block-streak to 37 consecutive games.
Coach Ross said Cardenas' competitive play set the tone for the Gators.
"She's gritty and she loves the competition," Ross said of Cardenas. "Somebody woke her up in January and said 'it's time to play SEC ball'. She stretched and yawned and got ready to play."
Georgia was led by Christi Thomas' game-high 21 points and Kara Braxton's 16-points.
"We keep having the same problems," Georgia coach Andy Landers said. "We don't do certain things and we get in a hole, which we did tonight. We turned it around and dug ourselves out, but we keep finding ways to get back in the hole.
"We are playing at times when we need to be thinking."
All-American guard Brandi McCain played a game-high 39 minutes in the win and scored 13 points. McCain brought the crowd to its feet when she hit an off-balance 44-foot three-pointer as the shot clock expired to score Florida's first points.
McCain's three steals put her into second place all-time for steals at Florida.
The Gators return to action Thursday, January 31, when they take on second-ranked Tennessee in Knoxville. Florida will look to avenge an 88-64 loss suffered against the Lady Vols on Jan.3 in Gainesville. Tip-off is set for 7:00 p.m. ET.
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