The University of Florida women's basketball team had its six game winning streak come to an end Sunday afternoon with a 89-62 loss to No. 6 Baylor in front of 6,462 at the Ferrell Center.
Foul trouble doomed Florida (6-3) from almost the onset of the game, as the Gators were whistled for 10 fouls in the first 11 minutes and Baylor (9-1) took advantage by building a 21-6 lead eight minutes into the contest.
The Gators battled back and got within four points, 27-23, but the Bears answered and regained a double-digit lead by halftime, 45-33. Baylor then ripped out of the locker room scoring the first nine points of the second half and extending its lead to 21 points, 54-33, and never looked back en route to its ninth consecutive victory.
"The situation that our foul trouble put us in when Bernice Mosby, Dalila Eshe and Tashia Morehead all have three fouls by halftime and Baylor's in the bonus at the 11 minute mark, made it hard," UF head coach Carolyn Peck said. "When a team is prepared for a huge game like one against a team like Baylor in the SEC-Big 12 Challenge, both teams are going to play aggressive and when it hurts when touch fouls are called. It hurts the game of women's basketball if the players are not allowed to play. It took the momentum out of us and the preparation we had worked on for this game. I think our foul trouble had a big barring on Baylor in the first half. In the second half, with everything equal, Baylor just came out with more energy and a greater effort than we did."
A total of 52 fouls were called and 76 free throws were shot during the contest.
Florida shot a season-low 26.9 percent (18-67) from the field, including a 20.6 percent (7-34) mark in the second half. Baylor shot 53.7 percent during the game and held a 52-35 rebounding advantage, while scoring 26 points off 15 Gator turnovers.
A bright spot for Florida was the play of junior Brittany Davis, who scored a game-high 16 points with six rebounds in 37 minutes of action.
"Ever since we've moved Brittany to the front of our press, her mindset has changed, she's more aggressive," Peck said.
Tamia Williams also reached double-figures for UF, netting 14 with five steals. Bernice Mosby tallied all of her eight points and seven rebounds in the second half.
Just four and a half minutes into the game the Gators already had been whistled for six personal fouls, with two on Mosby in the first 1:38 of the game that sent UF's leading scorer and rebounder to the bench early. Mosby did re-enter the game in the first half, but quickly picked up her third foul with 13:18 on the clock and did not play for the remainder of the period after seeing just three minutes of action.
Emily Niemann came off the bench and, with the Gators in sever foul trouble, nailed eight quick points and gave Baylor a commanding 21-6 lead with 12:05 remaining in the first half. During that stretch the Gators committed a few costly turnovers, as the Bears scored 13 points off of six UF miscues with 11:54 on the clock.
But Florida's defense buckled down and went on to force 12 Baylor turnovers while committing just one for the rest of the period.
With Baylor holding a 27-14 advantage, Danielle Santos hit a backdoor layup to spark a 9-0 run over a 1:22 span, when Brittany Davis scored six points and pulled UF within four points, 27-23, with 6:38 on the clock.
But the Bears struck right back, using an 8-0 spree with offensive rebounding and free throws shooting that lasted just 1:18 to push their lead back to double-digits, 35-23, with 4:33 remaining in the half. BU held that cushion for the rest of the period, taking a 45-33 lead into the locker room.
Florida was whistled for 16 fouls during the opening 20 minutes and shot just 33.3 percent (11-33) from the floor. Baylor, which was called for nine fouls, shot 56 percent (14-25) from the field and held a 22-17 rebounding edge.
The Gators next return to the court on Tuesday, December 21, when the team plays host to Richmond (7-0) in the O'Connell Center beginning at 1 p.m. ET. That game will be televised live by Sunshine Network.
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