The No. 24 Florida women's basketball team turned the ball over 25 times in a 92-55 loss to No. 15 Georgia Sunday afternoon at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center.
Lady Bulldogs forward Tasha Humphrey turned in a 30-point, 10-rebound, six-steal performance to lead Georgia (14-6, 5-2 SEC) to the decisive victory and sweep the season series against the Gators, who lost for the second straight time and fell to 15-5 overall, 3-4 in SEC action.
With the fourth 30-point performance of her career, Humphrey surpassed the 1,000-career point mark, shooting 11-21 from the field and a perfect 8-of-8 at the free-throw line. Another milestone in the game was produced by Georgia senior Sherill Baker, whose first of five steals on Sunday broke the SEC record for career thefts, surpassing the 372 collected by former Mississippi State standout Tan White.
Senior Danielle Santos (Marietta, Ga.) had 17 points, but was the only player to reach double figures for the Gators, who shot 39.3 percent (22-56) from the floor and had a 34-33 rebounding edge in the game.
Georgia used five players in double figures to outscore Florida 45-26 in the second half, shooting 58 percent after the break. The Lady Dawgs gained 34 points off of Gator turnovers in the game, just three points shy of the margin of victory. Georgia also outscored Florida in the paint 46-20.
“When you look at the multiple turnovers, we all played a part in it,” UF head coach Carolyn Peck said. “We didn't demonstrate that we were prepared. It was a big step backward for the Gators today. We switched up our defense at the beginning. Tasha (Humphrey) was just scoring inside, so we were doing a good job of defending the threes. But, when you turn the ball over, it doesn't matter what defense you're in.”
Florida traded buckets with Georgia early in the game, exchanging leads five times. A three-pointer by UF senior Sarah Lowe (Wynnewood, Pa.) gave the Gators a 17-13 lead with 11:36 left in the first half, by Georgia exploded with a devastating 18-2 run over the next four minutes to take a 31-19 lead, en route to a 47-29 halftime advantage.
The Gators look to end their two-game skid on Thursday, February 2, when the team plays host to Auburn at 7 p.m. in the O'Connell Center. That game will be televised live by SEC-TV, which can be seen in Gainesville on Sun Sports and on FSN Florida.
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