Courtney Cooper and Vanessa Hayden combined to score 39 points, but it wasn't enough as the Lady Gators were upset by Auburn 70-57 in the first round of the SEC Women's Basketball Tournament in Nashville, Tenn.
"Obviously, we're extremely disappointed with the outcome," UF head coach Carol Ross said. "As competitors, you want to stay as long as you can and play in a tournament of this caliber. Auburn played harder than we did. They scrapped, they rebounded, tonight the better team won."
Florida (18-10) shot a woeful 30.3 percent (20-of-66) during the game, while Auburn (16-12) hit 48.3 percent (28-of-58) from the floor.
Cooper led the Lady Gators with 20 points, while Hayden recorded her 15th double-double of the season with 19 points and 14 rebounds. Auburn's Le'Coe Willingham led all scorers with 22 points. Nicole Louden (12), Natasha Brackett (11) and Lakeisha Johnson (10) also tallied double-figure scoring in the win.
Cooper scored the first six points of the game, as the Gators jumped out early. Auburn's Willingham then converted on a three-point play to get the Tigers on the board. The teams traded baskets over the next eight minutes until Brandi McCain's trey at the 10:59 mark of the first half gave Florida its largest lead of the half, 20-11. That's when Tiger freshman Nicole Louden scored nine straight points behind a pair of 3-pointers, to tie the game at 20-all.
Florida countered with a 5-0 run and regain the lead. Tara Taylor nailed a trey with 6:34 left in the first half, as the Lady Gators still held a 27-23 advantage. But Auburn rallied with an 11-0 run that lasted five minutes and Tigers took a 34-28 lead with 1:47 left in the half. Monique Cardenas stopped the run with a short jumper with 1:11 to go, but Auburn scored again and took a 36-30 advantage into the lockerroom at the half.
Florida connected on 11-of-33 shots in the first half, shooting 33.3 percent from the field. Auburn shot 48.4 percent from the field on the strength of 15-of-31 shooting in the opening stanza.
Hayde's three-point play early in the second half brought UF within four points, 37-33, with 19:27 remaining, but the Lady Gators couldn't get any closer. Auburn's Natasha Brackett nailed a 3-pointer with 14:38 remaining to give the Tigers a double-digit lead, which it held for the majority of the game.
With her five steals tonight, senior Brandi McCain set a new Florida single-season record for steals with 86, passing DeLisha Milton and Tammy Jackson, who each recorded 84.
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