The University of Florida women's basketball team played a balanced game en route to a dominating 86-50 victory over Bethune-Cookman (1-5) Friday afternoon at UCF Arena. All 14 Gators played and saw significant minutes, with 13 contributing on the scoreboard in the game, which began UF's first of three contests over a four-day span.
Sophomore Tishona Gregory scored a game-high 14 points and dished a career-high nine assists with just two turnovers for Florida, which improved to 7-2. All-American Vanessa Hayden was the only other player for either team scoring in double-figures, as she recorded 12 points with nine rebounds in 20 minutes of action.
"We entered this game with the understanding that we were going to play a lot of people because of our current stretch of playing three games in four days, so it was important for us to establish a tone and that every player off the bench maintain that tone," UF head coach Carolyn Peck said. "We were able to do that. We didn't want anyone to play more than 20 minutes, and with the exception of Tishona playing 21, we were able to do that, as well."
Florida returns to action on Saturday at 12 Noon, playing UCF. The game will be televised live on Sunshine Network, while the audio can be heard live on the radio in Gainesville on WRUF AM850 and on the internet through GatorZone.com.
UF's shooting percentage of 57.1 tied a season-high mark, while its 36-point margin of victory was its best this year. The Gators, playing for the first time in five days, did look a bit rusty, committing 20 turnovers. However, UF dished 23 assists while forcing 20 turnovers and holding the Wildcats to 30.5 percent (18-59) shooting. The Gators also held a 44-25 rebounding advantage. BCC did not have a player score in double-figures.
"We were very unselfish and looked to find the open man," Peck said. "Sometimes those passes were a little off the mark, but we made a concerted effort to take good shots and I was pleased with that."
Among the 13 Gators scoring were freshman Kim Dye, who recorded her first collegiate points, and Kelly Stevenson, who also tallied her points of the year. Rookie Briana Phillips netted a career-high nine points with four rebounds in 16 minutes of action.
Tashia Morehead scored seven points during UF's 11-4 run to begin the second half, helping the Gators extended their 20-point halftime lead to 57-30 en route to the convincing victory.
The Gators used a 23-7 run over a 10-minute span midway through the first half to take a commanding 31-13 lead en route to a 46-26 halftime advantage. Eleven different players scored during the opening period, with Tishona Gregory netting a team-high nine points with six assists in 12 minutes of action.
The rust from playing their first game in five days showed early on for the Gators, who missed five of their first six shots before settling down and exploding on the game-breaking run. UF committed 11 first-half turnovers, but overcame the miscues by shooting a commanding 68 percent (17-25) from the floor and outrebounding BCC 23-10. The Wildcats shot 29.4 percent (10-34) from the field while turning the ball over seven times.
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