The University of Florida women's basketball team dropped an 88-60 decision to No. 18 California Friday evening in the first round of the Timeout for HIV/AIDS Classic at Pepperdine University held at Firestone Fieldhouse.
Florida (1-2) will play No. 14 Rutgers (0-2) on Saturday in the consolation game of the tournament, where the Scarlet Knights lost to the hosting Waves, 75-73 in overtime.
Saturday's game will start at 8 p.m. ET (5 p.m. PT) and be broadcast live in Gainesville on WRUF-850AM and on the internet at www.GatorZone.come.
Marshae Dotson led Florida with 14 points and five rebounds, shooting 5-of-9 from the floor, while Sha Brooks added 11 points and four rebounds for the Gators, who shot just 32.3 percent (20-62) from the floor during the game and were out-rebounding 46-25 by the taller Golden Bears (2-0), who shot 64.9 percent from the floor during the game, including a 72.4 percent clip in the decisive first half when Cal took a 48-27 lead. UF's defense did force 24 turnovers, while committing just 14.
Freshman Jennifer Mossor was solid in her Gator debut, scoring eight points in 17 minutes of action. Mossor missed UF's first two games with a stress fracture.
Devanei Hampton led five Bears in double-figures scoring, netting 19 points and nine rebounds off the bench.
Florida opened the second half scoring the first three points to reduce the deficit to 18 points, 48-30, Cal responded with a three-pointer and never trailed by less than 20 for the rest of the game.
The first half belonged to the Cal Bears, who shot a sizzling 72.4 percent (21-29) in the first half and dominated the boards, 22-7. Marshae Dotson and Kim Dye helped the Gators to an early 5-2 lead, but Cal used scoring from four different players to take a 10-5 advantage with 14:09 remaining.
Sha Brooks got in the scorebook with a deep three-pointer before the teams exchanged buckets, as UF trailed just three, 12-10, with 12:45 left in the period. That's when Cal exploded on a devastating 28-6 run and assumed a 40-16 lead with just under five minutes remaining in the half.
Florida out-scored the Bears 11-8 the rest of the half, but took a 48-27 deficit into the locker room. The Gators hit 36.7 percent (11-30) of their shots in the opening period, with Dotson and Brooks accounting for eight apiece.
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