Freshman Marshae Dotson (Columbus, Ohio) and junior Kim Dye (Fayetteville, Tenn.) posted career high scoring efforts helping the University of Florida women's basketball team upset 19th-ranked Vanderbilt, 73-59, Sunday afternoon at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center in front of 2,813.
Senior Danielle Santos (Marietta, Ga.), who finished the game with 10 points, scored five points during the Gators' 9-0 run to start the second half and erase an eight-point halftime deficit and take a 35-34 lead with 17:49 remaining.
Vanderbilt (13-6, 2-3 SEC) answered the run with jumpers from Carla Thomas and Liz Sherwood, but Sha Brooks (Jackson, Tenn.) nailed a three-pointer to tie the game, which would see three more tied scores over the next four minutes.
With the Commodores holding a 45-43 lead with 11:31 left, Dotson powered in a layup to spark a 19-5 run that lifted Florida (15-3, 3-2 SEC) to a 62-49 advantage with 4:45 remaining in the game and maintained a double-figure lead the rest of the way en route to the victory.
“My team gave me a great birthday present,” said UF coach Carolyn Peck, who was celebrating her 40th birthday facing her alma mater. “They are a special group. They came out with a lot of heart. We knew it was a game we would have to battle in, defensively. Marshae (Dotson) and Kim (Dye) really helped swing the momentum our way in the second half.”
Dotson finished with 17 points on 5-of-5 shooting from the floor and 7-of-9 from the free throw line in 17 minutes of action, while Dye hit for 15 points, canning 5-of-7 from the three-point arc. Senior Brittany Davis (Gainesville, Fla.) had nine points and a team-high seven rebounds for Florida, which outscored Vanderbilt 47-25 in the second half when the Gators shot 57.7 percent and held the usually accurate Commodores to a 37 percent mark.
In the first half, the Gators shot a dreadful 25 percent (6-24) from the floor, but were within eight points at halftime despite Vanderbilt's 62.5 percent (15-24) shooting efforts.
Vanderbilt was led by junior Caroline Williams, who totaled 17 points and six rebounds on the afternoon. Carla Thomas and Nicole Jules also reached double figures with 14 and 13, respectively.
Florida returns to action Thursday, January 26 at 8 p.m., ET (7 p.m. CT) when the Gators travel to Fayetteville, Ark., to play the Lady Razorbacks. That game will be televised live by COX Sports, which airs in the Gainesville area on COX Cable channel 72.
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