Bernice Mosby and Tamia Williams scored 13 points apiece in leading a balanced attack as Florida defeated South Florida for the 14th consecutive time by a score of 58-50 Sunday afternoon at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center.
Florida (9-4) won its third straight game after trailing by as many as nine points in the first half and improved its record to 34-3 all-time against South Florida (10-4), which had won its last five games in a row.
Florida used a critical 10-0 run in the late stages of the second half in turning a five-point deficit into a five-point lead that the Bulls couldn't overcome. The Gators then sank 10-of-12 free throws in the final five minutes of the game to hold off the Bulls.
Mosby recorded her fifth double-double of the season after hauling in 13 rebounds, while Dalila Eshe contributed nine points and seven rebounds with eight of those points coming in the final 2:46 of the game.
"This was another complete team effort," said Florida coach Carolyn Peck as eight different Gators contributed points in the win. "Our guards did a very good job of attacking and taking what was given to us after we were a little stagnant in the first half. We did a much better job of moving the ball around in our offense in the second half so that we found what we were looking for."
The Gators outrebounded South Florida 48-34 in improving to 7-0 this season when collecting more caroms than their opponent, while the Gators also held the Bulls to a meager 30.5 shooting percentage for the game (18-for-59). Anedra Gilmore paced South Florida with 15 points.
The Bulls opened the second half with a 13-4 run in the first 3:38, as South Florida went ahead 35-26. The Gators then came back within one at 35-34 after scoring eight straight points with four coming from both Mosby and Brittany Davis, who capped the run with a layup at 11:55.
South Florida forged ahead with the next three points before the Gators tallied the next 10 points in a stretch of 4:02. Davis got things going with a free throw at the 8:34 mark before Mosby added a basket with Davis following with another to make it 40-39 with 7:27 left. Williams then notched a layup at 5:44 to give the Gators their first lead since recording the opening points of the game at 41-40. Mosby added a free throw before Williams sank a 3-pointer from the corner to cap the run and give Florida a 45-40 lead with 4:32 remaining.
The Bulls came back within a point at 45-44 with 3:32 left, but the Gators hit their last basket of the game at 2:46 on a put-back from Eshe to make it 47-44 before sinking 10-of-12 free throws to close out the game.
In a sluggish offensive first half for both teams, Florida took the early lead before South Florida kept the Gators scoreless for more than six minutes in building its own six-point advantage. The two squads finished the half with a flurry of points as Florida scored on six of its final 10 possessions of the half to tie the game at 22-22 entering the locker room.
After the Gators tied the game at 6-6 on a basket from Davis at 14:30, Florida failed to register a point on their next 12 possessions as the Bulls went on top 14-6. The Gators then mounted their comeback beginning with a basket by Williams at 7:50, which triggered a 9-2 run over the next 3:25 that saw the Gators cut the deficit to one at 16-15. Mosby and Depree Bowden had field goals in the stretch, while Sarah Lowe added a 3-pointer.
South Florida responded with a 6-2 run to push their lead to five at 22-17 before the Gators closed out the half with the final five points on a trey by Kim Dye and a pair of free throws from Mosby.
Florida returns to action on Thursday, Jan. 6 at 8 p.m. ET, when the Gators open their Southeastern Conference season in a matchup at Arkansas.
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