The University of Florida women's basketball team's second-half comeback made for a tight finish against Auburn on Thursday. But Auburn's tenacious defense, which ranks third in the country in opponent field-goal percentage, proved to be too much to overcome as the Gators dropped a 62-51 decision to Auburn at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center.
Junior Florida center Vanessa Hayden (Orlando, FL) set a school record in the game for most career blocks with 232. The junior broke the previous mark of 230, set by Quientella Bonner from 1976-81, with her fourth of five blocks at 14:00 of the first half.
Hayden's record-setting effort included a game-high 15 rebounds and a team-high 15 points. Freshman forward Bernice Mosby (Brooksville, FL) scored 11 points and was the only Gator other than Hayden with double-digit scoring.
Florida's 12th-different starting lineup of the season was unable to snap its school-record losing streak as it lost its 10th-consecutive game. Auburn (17-6, 5-5 SEC) rode the same starting lineup it has used each game this season to withstand Florida's second-half comeback.
"We did a really nice job of crashing the glass there, and we did a good job protecting the basketball with only 11 turnovers," Florida coach Carolyn Peck said. "We have to add to that by putting that brown ball through the cylinder."
After trailing by as many as 18 points in the first half, the Gators (8-14, 0-9 SEC) regrouped at halftime and used a 12-0 run midway through the second half to trim Auburn's lead to 47-42 with 4:44 remaining. Hayden scored five consecutive points during that span to fuel the run, which started with sophomore guard Tara Taylor's (Huntsville, AL) 3-pointer at 13:45.
The Gators' defense could only go so long without allowing an Auburn score, however. Natasha Brackett's 3-pointer with 4:14 remaining ended Florida's run for Auburn's first points in more than nine minutes.
Le'Coe Willingham's 3-pointer with 1:16 remaining put Auburn up 57-47 to put the game out of Florida's reach.
"That's a situation right there where we have to finish," Peck said. "But I think it's going to come."
Auburn was led by Brackett's game-high 26 points, six rebounds and five assists. Brackett connected on 3-of-6 from 3-point range to lead an Auburn attack from beyond the arc that connected on 41 percent (7-of-17). The Tigers hit 38.3 percent (23-60) of their shots from the floor during the game, but just 29.6 percent during the second half.
Florida shot 29.9 percent (20-67) from the floor during the game, including a 26.5 percent (9-34) effort in the first half. The Gators also struggled from the free throw line, where they hit just 7-of-15.
Florida had a quick start to the game to take a 14-13 lead on Auburn with 11:33 remaining in the half.
Courtney Cooper scored eight of Florida's first 10 points, highlighted by an acrobatic lay-up off a pass from freshman guard Sarah Lowe (Wynnewood, PA). After freshman Brittany Davis (Gainesville, FL) sunk her second of two free throws to give the Gators' the 14-13 lead, Auburn went on an 21-2 run that gave it a 37-18 lead with 3:51 left in the first half.
The Gators ended the first half on a good note by scoring the last six points of the half. After freshman guard Danielle Santos' (Marietta, GA) 3-pointer from the corner with 1:32 remaining, Florida held Auburn without a point for the rest of the half. Lowe's runner at the buzzer sent the Gators into the half down 37-23.
Florida returns to action Sunday, Feb. 16, when it visits Alabama to begin a two-game road trip. Tipoff is set for 3 p.m. ET.
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