Florida Gators
EA Sports (Exh.)
Mosby Leads W-Hoops In Exhibition Finale Win, 95-88
Tuesday, November 16, 2004 | Women's Basketball
Bernice Mosby powered in 16 points and 14 rebounds as the University of Florida women's basketball team defeated EA Sports 95-88 at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center on Monday night in its final exhibition game of the season.
"We showed some signs of improvement in this game," UF head coach Carolyn Peck said. "One of the biggest things was our contribution from the bench. We had 28 points from the bench at the half and 40 for the game. We also obtained most of our statistical goals. We had a lot of unselfish play today and our intensity and effort was even improved over the first game (against Miami Suns Premier).
"We had our lulls, but had some good sparks off the bench to give us some things offensively," Peck continued. "We want to continue to get better as a defensive ball team - that's something that we will continue to work at and something we take pride in. But I am very proud of this team."
The unofficial double-double would have been the 11th of Mosby's career. Florida's frontcourt dominated the game as Mosby, Dalila Eshe, Brittany Davis, Tashia Morehead and Briana Phillips combined for 61 of the Gators' 88 points and helped establish a 49-36 rebounding margin for the game.
Davis netted 10 of her 14 points in the first half, while Eshe added 12 points and Phillips ended the night with 10 points. Tishona Gregory also tallied double figures, scoring 11 with five assists. Morehead finished with a solid game, contributing nine points and five assists in 18 minutes of work.
The two teams traded baskets for the first few minutes of play before the Gators went on a 15-6 run capped off by a jumper by Brittany Davis to take a 22-14 lead with 13:38 left in the first half. The lead grew to as much as 17 in the first half after a Depree Bowden three-pointer with just over two minutes remaining and the Gators entered the locker room with a 56-42 halftime advantage. Former Gator Tonya Washington paced the EA All-Stars with 11 points in the first half, finishing with 15 points and seven assists.
The EA Sports began the second half quickly and cut the deficit to eight. However, the Gators responded with a run of their own to push the lead back to 17 points, 83-66 with 7:04 remaining. With the Gators holding a 88-79 lead with just under two minutes remaining, Kate Bulger nailed a pair of three-pointers during a fast 7-0 run to shrink UF's lead to 88-86 with 1:04 on the clock.
Sophomore Briana Phillips finally ended the run with a three-point play with 39 ticks remaining. Maria Conlon canned a jumper for EA Sports five seconds later, but that was the last time the visitors would score, as the Gators hit four of five free throws in the waning seconds to seal the victory.
EA Sports' charge was led by Mary Cofield, who scored 15 of her game-high 18 points in the second half. Former Gator Brandi McCain added six points with seven assists for EA Sports who were playing their 15th game in 16 days.
The Gators return to action Monday, November 22, when the team launches their 31st season of varsity competition playing host to instate rival Florida State in the O'Connell Center beginning at 7 p.m.
The game will be televised live on Sunshine Network, with live scoring and audio of the game available on the University of Florida's official athletics website, www.Gatorzone.com.
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