University of Florida junior forward Bernice Mosby scored a game-high 19 points leading the Gator women's basketball team to a 66-59 victory over Boston University Wednesday night in the first round of the State Farm Classic held at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center. Florida (7-4) advances to Thursday's championship final against the Charlotte 49ers (11-1), who defeated Florida A&M, 78-49, in the first game of the tournament.
The consolation game between Boston (4-4) and Florida A&M (3-6) begins at 5 p.m., with the title game tipping-off at 7:30 p.m.
The Gators began the game with a 12-2 run, highlighted by four field goals from Mosby. Boston pulled within two points at the 8:09 mark when the score read 16-14, but UF would go on a 9-2 run for the next four minutes. Boston pulled within three points just before halftime but Florida's senior guard Tishona Gregory nailed a three-pointer with 11 seconds remaining to give the Gators a 34-28 lead entering the locker room.
Florida continued its brilliant passing and tough rebounding and defense well into the second half, opening up a 46-36 lead with 13:28 remaining. Boston responded, however, and held the Gators scoreless for nearly four minutes while using a quick 12-0 run to take its first lead of the game, 48-46, at the 10:15 mark. After that there were seven lead changes, but Florida took the lead for good when junior Sarah Lowe stole the ball with 2:30 remaining.
Boston held a 59-58 lead after two free throws from Corinne Jean with under three minutes remaining, but those would be the Terriers final points of the game, as the Gators scored the final eight points to earn the victory. UF was 5-for-6 from the free throw line in the final 26 seconds to preserve the win and advance to the State Farm Classic title game for the 14th time in the 14-year history of the event. Senior Tashia Morehead hit a clutch 15-foot jumper with 1:05 remaining and then came up with a steal on Boston's ensuing possession with 29 ticks on the clock.
"You've got to compliment Boston, they're a very good ball club, but I've got to compliment our team," UF head coach Carolyn Peck said. "It was a solid team defensive effort. We called on a lot of individuals to do some things and they played well. It was a good win after the Richmond game (a double-overtime loss) because we did what we needed to do down the stretch to win the game."
Both teams had three players in double digit scoring. In addition to her game-high 19 points, UF's Mosby pulled down seven boards. Senior guard Tishona Gregory notched 15 points and dished out three assists, while Morehead finished with 15 points and four assists.
For the Terriers, guard Rachael Vanderwal scored 17 points with a game-high five assists, Adrienne Norris had 17 points and four rebounds and guard Erica Kovach contributed 12 points.
The beginning of the game was delayed 19 minutes by a lighting malfunction in the Stephen C. O'Connell Center.
In the first game, Charlotte had five players score in double digits, routing FAMU 78-49. Guard Sakellie Daniels led all scorers with 16 points and also pulled down five rebounds. Forward Andrea Davidson had 12 points and five assists, while Pam Brown scored 10 points and pulled down eight rebounds. Charlotte's bench bested FAMU's subs 33-18, with forward Courtney Williams notching 13 points and guard Sabrina Gregory scoring ten. For the Lady Rattlers, senior guard Charon Williams played a game-high 31 minutes while she scored 11 points and sophomore center Ifeoma Onuaku came off the bench to contribute 12 points and six rebounds.
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