The 12th-ranked University of Florida women's basketball team had its four-game winning streak snapped Thursday evening with an 86-66 loss to No. 2 Tennessee in front of 9,104 at Thompson-Boling Arena. The loss dropped the Lady Gators overall record to 15-6, 5-3 in the Southeastern Conference, while the Lady Vols improved to 18-1 overall, 7-0 in league action.
The Lady Gators return to action on Sunday, February 3, playing host to South Carolina in the O'Connell Center beginning at 2:00 p.m. ET. The 11th-ranked Lady Gamecocks are the fourth consecutive nationally ranked opponent the Lady Gators are playing.
Florida trailed 45-35 with 18:25 remaining in the game before Tennessee ripped off a devastating 27-4 run over the next nine minutes to take a 72-39 lead and put the game out of reach.
The Lady Gators were able to cut the lead to 16 points late in the game, but the earlier UT run was too much to overcome.
"The difference was that Tennessee sustained their effort and we didn't," UF head coach Carol Ross said. "We didn't defend very well, didn't rebound very well or take care of the basketball. Tennessee did a good job of taking advantage of those things. We let the crowd become a factor and help them during any stretch we tried to assemble."
Brandi McCain led Florida with 18 points, while collecting four steals. Vanessa Hayden contributed 17 points, seven blocks, six rebounds and three steals in 24 minutes of action, playing with foul trouble most of the evening. Courtney Cooper also added double-figures, netting 10 with six rebounds in the loss.
Kara Lawson led five Lady Vols in double-figures, scoring 18 points. Michelle Snow logged a double-double with 16 points and a game-high 10 rebounds.
Tennessee outrebounded UF 44-34. The Lady Gators turned the ball over 20 times in the loss, while shooting 40.6 percent from the floor. The Lady Vols shot 47.1 percent from the floor during the game, including a 53.3 percent mark in the decisive second half.
Hayden, UF's leading scorer and rebounder, was whistled for her third & fourth personal fouls – both on the offensive end - one minute into the second half. Before exiting the game, Hayden did score the first points of the second half to bring UF within 10 points, 43-33. UT followed with a bucket but Courtney Cooper responded by hitting a 12-footer for Florida. Then UT exploded for a game-breaking 27-4 spree on scoring from five different players to extend its lead to 33 (72-39) with 9:25 remaining in the game.
"When one of your key players is out, Tennessee knows how to take advantage and they did that against us tonight when Vanessa went to the bench," Ross said.
Florida struggled shooting the ball and rebounding in the opening five minutes of the game, as Tennessee scored the first seven points building a 16-5 lead and held the Lady Gators without a single offensive rebound during the stretch.
Vanessa Hayden's short jumper in the paint finally sparked Florida's offense, as the Lady Gators used an 8-0 run to get within three (16-13) with 11:15 remaining in the half. The teams each collected a pair baskets over the next minute before Brandi McCain's three-pointer from the right side of the arc tied the game at 20-all with 9:43 on the clock. But UT's April McDivitt responded with a trey to ignite a brutal 19-4 run to spring the Lady Vols a 39-24 lead with under three minutes remaining.
Florida refused to fold and managed a mini 7-4 run to end the half and trail by 12 entering the locker room, 43-31. During the opening 20 minutes, Tennessee outrebounded Florida 25-18, as the Lady Gators managed just three on the offensive end. UF also turned the ball over 11 times. Tennessee outscored Florida by only six points from the floor, but hit 8-of-11 from the free throw line, while the Lady Gators converted 2-of-4.
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