Junior guard Depree Bowden (Palmetto, Fla.) scored a career-high 19 points, and sophomore guard Sha Brooks (Jackson, Tenn.) chipped in with 18, to lead the University of Florida women's basketball team (3-4) to an 86-54 win over Morehead State (1-5) on Monday at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center.
Florida's 86 points are its highest total this season, and the most it has scored since a 98-83 win over Mississippi State on March 2, 2006. The Gators' 32-point margin of victory is their largest since defeating Stetson by 29 points, 85-56, on Nov. 7, 2005. The victory also extended UF's non-conference home winning streak to 14 games, dating back to Dec. 21, 2004.
Freshman guard LaKendra Phillips (Memphis, Tenn.) scored nine points to complement the 19 and 18-point efforts by Bowden and Brooks, respectively. Sophomore forward Marshae Dotson (Columbus, Ohio) pulled down a team-high nine rebounds, and Brooks and freshman guard LaToya Bullard (Memphis, Tenn.) shared the team lead in assists, with four each.
“One of the biggest things we wanted to do tonight was do a better job with shot selection, and we also wanted to take care of the ball,” Florida head coach Carolyn Peck said. “I think we did that tonight. We shot well, particularly in the first half, and that had something to do with our decisions. This was a good game for us to see that the good we're trying to do will work if we're patient.”
Bowden scored 12 of the Gators' first 14 points of the contest, helping the team open up a 24-11 lead midway through the first half on the strength of a 14-2 run. She finished the period with 14 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the floor, helping UF shoot 53.8 percent (21-of-39) as a team in the first half. Florida closed the half on a 24-5 scoring string, including 10 points from Brooks, to open a 50-22 advantage at the break. The Gators' 50 points and 53.8 shooting percentage both marked first-half season highs.
Florida continued to increase its lead at the outset of the second half, outscoring the Eagles, 25-10, to open the half, and building a 75-34 margin with 10 minutes left to play. Senior forward Briana Phillips (Palmetto, Fla.) scored six of her eight points in the second frame, and freshman scored each of her nine points after the break, propelling the Gators to the 86-54 win. Florida finished the game 36-of-80 (45.0 percent) from the floor, and won the points-in-the-paint battle, 44-24.
“Our players are getting better every day,” Peck said. “This is a group that's not afraid of too much. They go out and compete – they play hard. I think we saw that tonight.”
Junior guard Anitha Smith-Williams netted a team-high 13 points for Morehead State, and freshman forward Brandi Rayburn added 10 points off the bench for the Eagles. Senior forward Holly Williams tied Dotson for the game-lead with nine rebounds, and Smith-Williams dished out four assists.
“It was obviously a good night for the Gators,” Morehead State head coach Matthew Mitchell said. “They played with a lot of energy and a lot of effort. The margin was bad at halftime, but our players kept fighting, and I'm proud of them. It's difficult to play these games, but you need to learn something from them.”
Florida will now hit the road for a three-game road stretch within an eight-day span, playing at South Alabama on Dec. 1, Illinois on Dec. 5 and TCU on Dec. 8.
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