Florida Gators
Liberty
Sha Brooks Leads Women's Basketball to 73-50 Win Over Liberty
Friday, December 30, 2005 | Women's Basketball
Freshman Sha Brooks scored a career-high 22 points and pulled down a career-best eight rebounds in leading Florida to its ninth straight win and its 13th State Farm Classic title in the 15-year history of the event as the Gators defeated Liberty 73-50 Thursday evening at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center.
Florida (11-1) matched three other teams in school history for the program's best start after 12 games by using a critical 14-0 run midway through the second half in turning the tables on Liberty (5-4), which had never previously trailed in the contest. The Gators out-scored the Flames 47-20 in the second half as UF connected on 14-of-28 shots, while hitting a season-best 26-of-30 free throws in the game (86.7 percent).
“We made some adjustments at halftime and our team really picked up the intensity in the second half,” Florida coach Carolyn Peck said. “Sha Brooks and Sarah Lowe did a good job of breaking the press and picking things apart. Sha is a competitor and coming from behind really fired her up.”
The Gators became just the third team to out-rebound Liberty this season as UF finished with 44 to 29 for the Flames. In winning its ninth consecutive game, Florida matched the second-longest winning streak in school history – just three shy of the school record of 12 set during the 1993-94 season. The Gators hadn't won nine in a row since 2000-01.
Dalila Eshe added 13 points, including a 9-of-10 effort from the free throw line, and eight rebounds for the Gators, while Brittany Davis chipped in with 10 points and seven boards. Davis crossed the 600-point career mark in the game after finishing in double figures for the 11th straight contest. Brooks, who also collected a game-high six steals, led UF's march at the free throw line hitting 11-of-12, with the Gators canning 26-of-30 during the contest.
Karolina Piotrkiewicz and Roli-Ann Nikagbatse paced Liberty with eight points each, while the Gators held the Flames' leading scorer, Megan Frazee (20.6 ppg), to just seven points on 3-of-10 shooting.
Florida improved to 6-1 on the season against teams that made the postseason in 2004-05, while also extending its winning streak to nine games – the longest stretch in Peck's tenure.
With the Flames holding a six-point lead at 40-34 with 14:36 left in the game, the Gators mounted a 14-0 run in a span of 4:21 in forging ahead 48-34 with 9:47 remaining. Five different players scored for UF in the stretch, led by Davis, who got things going with a basket at the 14:08 mark. Davis had five points in the run, while Brooks added four and provided a pair of free throws with 12:05 left as the Gators took their first lead of the game at 42-40 and never looked back.
Florida held Liberty scoreless for a 6:12 stretch as the Flames failed to record points on 11 consecutive possessions and went 0-for-10 from the floor in the stretch. Liberty came as close as five after a trey from Nikagbatse with 8:24 left, but the Gators poured on the offense the rest of the way in scoring on six of its next possession to seal the game.
The Gators scored a season-low 26 points in the first half and found themselves trailing Liberty 30-26 after making just 8-of-26 shots (30.8 percent) after 20 minutes of action. The Flames opened the contest by scoring nine of the first 11 points in bolting to a 9-2 lead with 15:58 left.
Florida fought back and remained close throughout the first frame as the Gators never trailed by more than eight. With the score 24-16 following a Liberty bucket at the 5:23 mark, UF answered with an 8-0 run in just 1:42 to tie the game for the first time. Four players scored points in the stretch with Sarah Lowe picking up the basket that led to a tie with 3:18 left. Liberty responded with six consecutive points before Danielle Santos canned a jumper with 34 seconds left to bring the scoring in the half to a close.
Florida returns to action on Monday, Jan. 2 when the Gators face Florida State at 6:30 p.m. at the O'Connell Center in a Sun Sports/FSN Florida televised game. The State Farm Classic concludes Friday when Liberty and Rhode Island square off at 4:30 p.m.
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