Georgia held Florida without a field goal for the final 6:15 of the first half, as the 14th-ranked Lady Bulldogs used a 17-1 run that extended into the second half to hand the Gators a 76-67 loss at Stegeman Coliseum in front of 6,303 in the regular-season finale for both teams.
Despite the loss, Florida showed to be a significantly improved team from the January 12th meeting between the two schools, when Georgia thumped the Gators by 43 points, 105-62, in Gainesville. Florida also improved its rebound differential, as the Gators were outrebounded by 17 in that first meeting but by just two in Saturday's affair.
"It's time for us to turn the corner and not be satisfied with improvement," UF head coach Carolyn Peck said. "I've been patient long enough and now it's time to win these games. With the SEC Tournament next, I think we can be a very dangerous team. We are a much different team than we were to start the conference season."
The Gators (9-18, 1-13 SEC) next travel to North Little Rock, Ark., to compete in the 2003 SEC Tournament. Florida either will be the No. 11 or the No. 12 seed depending on Mississippi's result on Sunday at home against South Carolina. If Mississippi defeats USC, then the Gators are the No. 12 seed, but should the Lady Rebels lose to the Gamecocks, then first year SEC commissioner Mike Slive will determine the seeding by a coin flip.
Florida's Vanessa Hayden, who missed the January 12th meeting with an injury, scored a game-high 20 points eight rebounds and five blocks. Sarah Lowe and Tamia Williams each added 11 points for the Gators, who outscored the Lady Bulldogs 48-45 in the second half. During that final period, Florida shot 54.3 percent from the floor and turned the ball over just five times.
During the game, the Gators shot 39.4 percent (26-66), including a 9-for-26 effort from the 3-point line, while Georgia (19-8, 10-4 SEC) shot 37.5 percent (27-72), which included an 8-for-19 effort from beyond the arc.
Christi Thomas' 19 points and 10 rebounds led a balanced Georgia scoring attack, which featured five players scoring in double-figures. Marquita Driskell added 16 points with a game-high 12 rebounds for the Lady Bulldogs, who committed just nine turnovers and tallied 23 points off of UF's 15 miscues.
Marquita Driskell opened the second half scoring the first five points and extended Georgia's 31-19 halftime lead into a 17-point advantage. After that the teams continued to trade baskets for the next three-plus minutes until Kelly Stevenson nailed back-to-back three pointers to bring the Gators within 11 points, 44-33, with 15:05 remaining in the game. Florida had three opportunities to cut the lead even more with a great defensive stand, but couldn't get the ball to fall on the offensive end during that span.
Both squads exchanged buckets before UG hit two in a row to extend its lead to 15, but Vanessa Hayden and Dalila Eshe countered for Florida to keep the deficit at 11 with just over 10 minutes left.
Similar to events that occurred in the first half, Christi Thomas scored the next five points of the game, which included a three-point play to ignite a 8-0 run and increase Georgia's lead to 19 points, 58-45, with under eight minutes remaining.
Hayden stopped the run with a pair of free throws and Tara Taylor and Danielle Santos followed a two points apiece to cut Georgia's lead to 13, but Mary Beth Lycett hit a 3-pointer to end UF's run and start a 8-2 Lady Bulldog swing. Florida refused to give up and scored the next six points of the game, four from Hayden, to cut the lead to 13 with just over three minutes remaining. However, Georgia scored the next four points and the teams essentially traded baskets the remainder of the game.
Vanessa Hayden scored the first field goal of the game, but Georgia countered with a 14-2 run to take a 10-point lead. Danielle Santos then hit a 12-foot jumper before Tamia Williams nailed a 3-pointer with 9:33 remaining in the half to spark a 14-5 spree for the Gators, who closed within one, 19-18, with 6:15 on the clock despite hitting just 20 percent (4-20) shooting and committing seven turnovers. Unfortunately, Hayden's three-point play that ended the run included UF's last field goal of the half. Christi Thomas scored the next four points of the game and Jessica Pierce banked a trey from the top of the key as the Lady Bulldogs ended the period on a 12-1 run to take a 31-19 halftime advantage. Florida, which found itself trailing at halftime for the 17th time this season, shot just 22.6 percent (7-31) from the field during the first 20 minutes and committed 10 turnovers, which Georgia converted into 13 points.
END OF REPORT
