Junior Bernice Mosby scored 16 points in leading the University of Florida women's basketball team to a 67-42 win against UCF before a crowd of 1,855 Tuesday evening at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center. Florida (2-2) extended their series lead over the Golden Knights (1-3) to a perfect 23-0.
Two other Gators ended the game in double digits as senior Tashia Morehead and junior Danielle Santos netted 15 and 10 points, respectively, as all 11 players scored for UF.
The Gators, playing their third game in five-days, recovered from a tough shooting touch to start the game and led by nine points at the half at 29-18. UF used a 13-2 run midway through the second half to pull away from UCF in building a 20-point lead at 50-30 with 8:10 remaining in the contest.
"The thing I'm most proud of is that we played with intensity for 40 minutes," Florida coach Carolyn Peck said. "In both halves, even if we made mistakes, we kept up our intensity. UCF is a very scrappy team and have proven that they've got scorers."
Sophomore Francine Houston led the Golden Knights with 14 points and four rebounds.
In the second half, a UCF three-pointer with 14:50 remaining cut Florida's lead to nine, 37-28. But a jumper by Mosby ignited the critical 13-2 run in giving the Gators a 20-point cushion the Golden Knights couldn't recover from. After Mosby's bucket, Santos popped a three, which was followed by a Mosby free throw and a basket before Santos nailed another trey to make it 48-30 Florida. Senior Tamia Williams added a layup at 8:10 to give the Gators at 50-30 lead.
In the first half, both teams went point-for-point until the Gators began to pull away with 5:01 left to play. Coming off the bench, Morehead rallied the Gator offense to an 11-5 run through the end the first half to give Florida a 28-19. Despite being hampered with a strained quad muscle, Morehead led the Gators in scoring in the first period with nine points, shooting a perfect 4-4 from the field.
The Gators' defense has stepped up the pressure in the past two games forcing 56 turnover, including 21 turnovers by the Golden Knights, which led to 15 Florida points.
The contest also marked the second time this season that the Gators have limited their opponent to less than 20 points in the first half and less than 45 points for the game.
The Gators continue their home stand Saturday, Dec. 4 against Temple at approximately 2:30 p.m. directly following the Florida men's basketball game vs. Miami. Action can be seen live via streaming video thru GatorVision Online on www.GatorZone.com and can be heard live on WRUF-AM 850 in Gainesville and on the internet.
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