Freshman guard Jennifer Mossor (Orlando, Fla.) scored a career and game-high 13 points and five additional University of Florida women's basketball players scored in double digits en route to the Gators' dominating 99-39 victory over Alabama State in the opening day of the 16th Annual State Farm Classic Thursday evening at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center.
Florida will play Nebraska (11-2) in the tournament championship game on Friday at 7 p.m. Nebraska defeated NC State (10-3) 94-74 to win its sixth straight game and advance to the final. The Cornhuskers' Kelsey Griffin notched a double-double with a game-high 18 points and 10 rebounds, and three additional Nebraska players scored in double figures en route to the victory to snap the Wolfpack's seven-game win streak.
N.C. State and Alabama State will compete in the consolation game beginning at 4:30 p.m.
The 60-point victory marked the largest in tournament history, surpassing the previous record of 46 points which was set by the Gators exactly six years ago against Tennessee State. Florida's 99 points was just one point shy of tying a tournament record for points scored in a single game, which was also set in Florida's 2000 contest against Tennessee State. The margin also was the largest for Florida under head coach Carolyn Peck.
Sophomore guard Kim Critton (Memphis, Tenn.) and freshman forward Sharielle Smith (Bradenton, Fla.) also set career-bests with 12 points each, while junior guard Depree Bowden (Palmetto, Fla.) also added 12 points. Sophomore guard Sha Brooks (Jackson, Tenn.) and senior guard Kim Dye (Fayetteville, Tenn.) chipped in 11 each, and all 10 players that saw action contributed a minimum of six points apiece.
“The best thing about tonight was the total team effort. All 10 players that could play tonight understood their roles and did what we asked them to do. The balanced scoring made me very proud, from the five players who started the game to the five players who came in off the bench,” Florida head coach Carolyn Peck said.
“Kim (Critton) has been working very hard in practice lately, and it definitely showed tonight,” Peck added.
The Gators (6-7) opened the game with a 12-0 run that spanned four minutes and featured a pair of treys by Dye. The Hornets (3-7, 0-0 SWAC) put up their first point of the game at the 15:55 mark with a basket from the charity stripe which preceded a second double-digit rally by Florida that ended eight minutes into the half with Alabama State's first field goal of the game. Over the next seven minutes, the Orange and Blue increased its lead to 39-7 with the help from six scorers and four-straight free throws by Critton. UF closed the half with a 34-point halftime lead and held Alabama State to just 14 points, marking a season-low halftime total by an opponent this season.
Florida shot 35.5 percent from field-goal range on 11-31 shooting, while Alabama State shot just 17.2 percent (5-of-29) during the half. The Gators notched 23 points off the Hornets' 23 turnovers while committing four for two points.
Sophomore forward Marshae Dotson (Columbus, Ohio) led all scorers in the opening half of the second period as she rattled off nine of the Gators' first 24 points. She notched her first basket less than two minutes in and followed with a three-point play one minute later. After Dotson added four additional points on a layup and pair of free throws, Florida went on a 10-minute, 17-8 run for an 82-28 lead with under seven minutes to play. The two teams traded shots from beyond the arc before UF closed the game on a 13-4 run.
“We all worked together tonight, and it was definitely a team effort. When you're playing together as a team, it makes the game a lot more fun,” Dye said.
Capri Taylor led Alabama State with eight points, and Airel Anderson and L'Teisha Holloway each added seven.
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