The University of Florida women's basketball team shot a solid 48.4 percent from the floor and held the rebounding advantage, but couldn't stave off a late rally in an 84-73 loss at No. 23/21 Vanderbilt Sunday at Memorial Gym.
The Gators (12-8, 3-4 SEC) held a 59-51 lead with 13:30 remaining in the game, before Vanderbilt (15-5, 4-3 SEC) road the three-point shooting prowess of Abi Ramsey to break the game open with a devastating 21-4 run, handing the Gators their third consecutive loss.
Ramsey scorched the Gators for a career-high 30 points that included eight three-pointers, as she hit 9-of-14 from the floor and 8-of-13 from behind the arc.
"I thought our guards played exceptionally well today, except when they were guarding Ramsey," UF head coach Carolyn Peck said. "They over-helped in the paint and couldn't recover quick enough to cover Ramsey on the perimeter. Give her credit, she hit the open shots."
Florida managed its second-best field goal percentage of the season, but allowed the Commodores to hit 59.2 percent (29-49), a season-high for Gator opponents this year. VU also managed 13-of-23 from the three-point arc, while UF hit 7-of-15 from long range.
"When we had the lead, we got away from what got us there," UF head coach Carolyn Peck said. "You look at how well we shot the ball and the fact that we outrebounded them, and you'd think you'd come out with a win. But you can't allow a team to hit 13 three-pointers."
Florida scored on its first two possessions of the second half, as Bernice Mosby canned a deep jumper before Tamia Williams collected a steal and raced the length of the court for the layin, as the Gators took a 46-43 lead. Abi Ramsey nailed a three-pointer for Vanderbilt to tie the game and the teams then matched each other bucket for bucket, as the score was even at 51 with 16:21 remaining.
Tishona Gregory then nailed a jumper that sparked a 8-0 Gator run, as Sarah Lowe capped the spree with a two-footer after a steal under the basket to give UF a 59-51 lead that forced Vanderbilt to call a timeout with 13:25 on the clock. The Commodores responded as Ramsey nailed consecutive three-pointers and then two more fueling a 21-4 run and giving Vandy a 72-63 advantage with 4:23 left.
Mosby led UF with 15 points and six rebounds, while Gregory added 14 points and Williams 10 in the losing effort.
The Gators were without services of freshman Depree Bowden, who did not accompany the team to Nashville because of strep throat. Bowden's absence left UF with just nine players, one of whom was Danielle Santos who had not played since an injury on December 19. Santos entered Sunday's game at the 10:24 mark of the first half. Santos played 12 minutes, grabbing two offensive rebounds, one assist and one steal while hitting one-of-two free throws during her return.
The first half was an offensive shootout, as Vanderbilt shot 58.6 percent (17-29) from the floor, including 7-of-14 from the three-point arc, while UF was 54.8 percent (17-31), hitting 5-of-9 from long range. The Gators held a convincing 19-9 rebounding edge, collecting 11 on the offensive end, alone.
The teams traded baskets for nearly the entire first half, with both teams scoring on consecutive possessions only twice during the opening 20 minutes. The Commodores led by as many as eight points, 20-12, with just under 14 minutes remaining, before the Gators chipped away the deficit thanks to three-pointers from Tamia Williams, Tishona Gregory, Tashia Morehead and Sarah Lowe.
With Vanderbilt holding a 35-28 lead with 5:40 left in the first half, Florida staged a 10-0 run - capped by a trey from Lowe - over the next two-plus minutes to take its first lead of the game, 38-35. After the teams traded scores, Vandy's Sherish Stringfield canned a trey with 44 seconds left to tie the score at 40-all. Briana Phillips then muscled down an offensive rebound and was fouled on the putback. She nailed both free throws and then helped UF's seemingly smothering defense on the other end, but Abi Ramsey threw up a long three-pointer that found the bottom of the net as the halftime buzzer sounded, giving Vanderbilt a 43-42 lead.
The Gators return to action on Thursday, February 3, playing host to No. 5 Tennessee in the O'Connell Center beginning at 7 p.m. That game will be televised live on Sun Sports, FSN South and FSN Southwest.
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