Sha Brooks scored a season-high 24 points and Depree Bowden added a career-high 18, but No. 14/12 Rutgers spoiled their outstanding offensive efforts as the Scarlet Knights topped Florida, 88-71, Saturday evening in the consolation game of the Timeout for HIV/AIDS Classic at Pepperdine University.
Rutgers (1-2) used a key 12-0 run midway through the second half to break open a close game and hand the Gators (1-3) their third straight loss. Florida held a 40-37 halftime lead, but the Knights opened the final stanza with a 16-5 spree to take a 53-45 advantage. The Gators continued to fight and got scoring that included a three-pointer from Jennifer Mossor, who helped UF close within five, 55-50, at the 14:12 mark. That's when Rutgers exploded on a devastating 12-0 run that last less than two minutes, as the Gator deficit moved to 18 points, 68-50, with 11:51 remaining and Florida just couldn't recover.
“In the first half we were very aggressive and played well,” UF head coach Carolyn Peck said. “We didn't hesitate on our shots and took what the defense gave us. We just didn't do that in the second half and that was the difference.”
Brooks, who earned a spot on the All-Tournament team, finished the night one point off her career-high scoring mark, as she went 6-of-10 from the three-point arc. Bowden had a break-out two-game spell, hitting 6-of-10 from the floor and 6-of-6 from the free throw line while recording eight rebounds against Rutgers.
“Depree really took her game to another level this weekend,” Peck said. “I like the improvement of our frontcourt. Marshae Dotson and Briana Phillips stepped up and gave us a stronger presence in the paint. Jennifer Mossor, LaToya Bullard and Kendra Phillips provided great minutes off the bench in the backcourt, as did everyone.”
“We played two very good nationally ranked teams during this tournament and it will help us get ready for conference play,” Peck said. “I saw us do some good things and make improvements in both games.”
Florida showed great improvement in its rebounding efforts, as Rutgers held just a 32-30 advantage during the game.
Epiphanny Prince tallied a game-high 29 points with eight assists to lead Rutgers to its first win of the season. Brittany Ray added 20 points, while Kia Vaughn recorded 17 points and 10 rebounds for the Knights, which shot 58.6 percent from the floor during the game, including a 66.7 percent mark in the deciding second half.
The teams exchanged buckets during the opening four minutes of the game, when Florida turned up its defensive intensity. Down two at the 15:58 mark of the first half, Depree Bowden collected back-to-back steals and went the length of the court on both to spark an 11-3 run over a five-minute span giving the Gators a 16-10 lead with 10:38 remaining.
The teams traded scores for the next few minutes until Rutgers went on a 7-0 run to retake the lead, 22-21, with seven minutes left in the period. After another scoring exchange, Bullard nailed a three-point to spark a long-range shooting barrage for the Gators, as Brooks buried three consecutive treys and gave Florida a 35-38 lead and held on to take the 40-37 advantage into the locker room.
Florida doesn't have much time to rest before its next game, as the Gators play host to the IUPUI Jaguars (2-0) on Tuesday in the O'Connell Center. That game, which is the first-half of a double-header with UF's men's team, tips-off at 5 p.m. ET.
Fans can purchase a $10 general admission ticket for the women's game only or an $18 reserved ticket for entrance to both Gator games.
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