Senior Kim Dye (Fayetteville, Tenn.) matched her season-high of 14 points Tuesday evening as the University of Florida women's basketball team defeated IUPUI, 71-57, at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center.
Along with Dye, sophomores Jessica Jackson (Collerville, Tenn.) and Marshae Dotson (Columbus, Ohio) also scored in double figures with 13 and 12 points, respectively. Jackson's point total marked a career high, and her eight rebounds also were a personal best.
The victory was the Gators' 13th consecutive home win against non-conference opponents, while snapping a three-game slide.
“I thought we showed spurts of improvement today, and I think two important elements of improvement that we saw was in Kim (Dye) and Jessica (Jackson),” UF head coach Carolyn Peck said. “Kim was very offensive minded for us today, and Jessica played well in the post and has shown improvement every day.”
Florida and IUPUI traded points in the opening minutes of the second half before Dye tied her season-high with her fourth 3-pointer of the evening at the 17:17 mark. Senior Briana Phillips (Palmetto, Fla.) followed with a layup to increase the Gator lead to 48-24, but the Jaguars answered back by holding the Gators scoreless for the next two-and-a-half minutes while posting seven straight points. For the next seven minutes the teams traded points from the charity stripe, and Florida held onto a 20-point lead, 60-40, with eight minutes to play. The Jaguars decreased their deficit to 12 points, their lowest of the night, before the Gators notched two free throws with a minute left to seal the 71-57 victory.
Florida hit 43.6 percent from the field on 24-for-55 shooting, while IUPUI was just 19-61 (31.1 percent). The Gators also out-rebounded the Jaguars, 46-35, and found their way to the free throw line 10 more times.
All 12 Gators played, with 11 getting the score book, as leading scorer Sha Brooks (Jackson, Tenn.) saw limited action to rest shin splints and did not hit either of her shot attempts but did manage to dish three assists.
The Gators jumped out to an early 9-3 lead in the first half as Dye opened the game with a 3-pointer that was followed by a pair of layups from Phillips. After a three-minute scoring hiatus, Florida went on a 21-13 run that spanned more than six minutes and included two additional treys by Dye. The Gators' defense held the Jaguars scoreless for just over four minutes en route to a 37-16 lead with under five minutes to play, and closed the period with a 41-22 halftime lead.
“We wanted to play a lot of people tonight, since our schedule is so condensed these next few weeks. Everyone had an opportunity tonight, and we did pretty well. We still have a lot of work to do, but that's natural with a young team,” Peck said.
Dotson was a perfect 4-for-4 from the field in the opening half, while Dye was 3-of-5 from beyond the arc.
IUPUI's Jernisha Cann recorded the lone double-double of the game with 12 points and 10 rebounds, while Alicia Booyer chipped in a game-high 17 points.
“Coach Peck was concerned about her team not being able to put together two halves, but they certainly did that tonight. We didn't handle the pressure well or capitalize when we needed to, but they did the exact opposite,” IUPUI head coach Shann Hart said. “The Florida bench also did an outstanding job for them tonight, but the difference on the boards and from the free throw line made all the difference tonight.”
Florida returns to action on Friday, November 24, when the squad travels to Tallahassee to face instate rival Florida State (4-0) at the Civic Center beginning at 4 p.m. ET. That game will be televised live on Sun Sports. Fans also can listen to the game on WRUF-850 AM in Gainesville and thru the internet at www.GatorZone.com.
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