Sophomore Sha Brooks (Jackson, Tenn.) led the University of Florida women's basketball team with a game-high 22 points and four assists, but it wasn't enough to fend off a 82-66 exhibition loss to Team adidas/Premier Players Sunday afternoon at the O'Connell Center.
“Today's game was a good measuring stick of where we are and what we need to work on before the season begins. We're very young and shy two point guards right now, but I was still disappointed with today's output, because we have looked much better in practice,” UF head coach Carolyn Peck said. “We need to box-out better, and in the Southeastern Conference, you'll suffer if you aren't boxing out. We also had too many turnovers, and we need to find a way to stop making these mistakes.”
Florida, which has just two players taller than 6-feet, was out-rebounded 62-46, giving up 29 on the offensive end. The young Gators also committed 22 turnovers, but forced 23 from the visiting squad, which shot 47.2 percent in the second half and 39.5 percent in the game. Florida hit 36.2 percent from the floor, including a 3-for-14 effort beyond the extended experimental three-point arc.
Despite trailing Team adidas/Premier Players 7-3 after three minutes of play in the opening half, the Gators responded with a 5-0 run for their first lead of the game. After knotting the score at 11-all, the Orange and Blue's Kim Critton (Memphis, Tenn.) and Briana Phillips (Palmetto, Fla.) recorded a pair of baskets for the four-point lead. Premier Players answered back with a 8-4 run to tie the game at 19 before Kim Dye (Fayetteville, Tenn.) notched Florida's first three-pointer of the game for the 22-19 lead. Led by Sherelle Sowho's 11 points, Premier Players closed the half with a 20-14 rally, in which the Gators trailed by 37-31 at the two-minute mark. Sophomore Marshae Dotson (Columbus, Ohio) tallied a pair from the charity stripe to bring the Gators within four at the 1:17 mark, but it wasn't enough to stifle off a 42-33 halftime deficit.
Sophomore Jessica Jackson (Collierville, Tenn.) led the Gators with seven points and one block in the first period, while junior Depree Bowden (Palmetto, Fla.) pulled down five boards.
The two teams fought closely and traded points in the opening minutes of the second half before Premier Players climbed to a 53-39 lead with 15 minutes remaining to play. The teams continued to trade baskets until Dotson snapped the 14-point Premier Players lead with a layup on a fast-break, and the Gators continued to climb the scoreboard and found themselves within 10 at the 10-minute mark. Despite the late rally, Florida found itself trailing 70-55 with six minutes to play. Premier Players posted a 12-11 final run en route to the 82-66 victory.
Bowden posted a team-high nine rebounds for the Gators and four assists, while Critton and Jackson each tallied nine points and Dotson and Phillips chipped in eight points each.
Former Gator Brittany Davis recorded one of two double-doubles for Premier Players, as she notched 11 points and a game-high 14 points. Nikita Bell led the visiting team with 14 points and 11 rebounds, while Katie Alsdurf (13), Tynecia Pam (11), Sowho (11) also scored in double digits for Premier Players.
“I found out today how much I miss playing in Gainesville and wearing a Florida uniform,” Davis said. “Florida is a really young team, but they look good, and I think they have a lot of things to look forward to this season.”
The Gators open their 2006-07 regular season on Friday, November 10 with a 5 p.m. contest against North Florida. It is the first-half of a basketball double-header with UF's men's team.
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