Despite a career-high 21 points from sophomore forward Marshae Dotson (Columbus, Ohio), the University of Florida women's basketball team dropped a hard-fought game with Nebraska, 81-73, on Friday night in the championship game of the 2006 State Farm Classic at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center. The eight-point differential marked the smallest margin in the 16-year history of the State Farm Classic championship game since the Gators defeated Rutgers by eight, 66-58, in the 2000 edition of the tournament.
Sophomore guard Sha Brooks (Jackson, Tenn.) led Florida (6-8) with a 24-point effort, including a 9-of-9 performance from the free-throw line, that put her just three points away from her career best. Dotson's 10 rebounds paced the team, and combined with her 21 points to represent her second double-double of the season, and the fourth of her collegiate career. Freshman guard Jennifer Mossor (Orlando, Fla.) chipped in with a team-high four assists in the outing.
“I was pleased with our effort, especially the way we closed the lead and showed a lot of effort,” Florida head coach Carolyn Peck said. “For our team to show that kind of fight in the second half was a good step forward for us. Nebraska is a heck of a ball club.”
Dotson, who earned a spot on the State Farm Classic All-Tournament team, scored the Gators' first six points of the contest, sparking a 14-5 game-opening Florida run. UF shot nearly 40 percent from the field in the opening period, while also outscoring the Huskers in the paint and on the fast break. Brooks capped the first half for Florida with her lone three-point field goal of the frame just before the buzzer, sending her team into the break trailing by just nine, 40-31.
UF cut the margin to two with a 9-2 spurt, on the strength of two 3-point field goals from Mossor, to open the second half. After Nebraska went up by as many as seven points, a three-point play from Brooks pulled the Gators to within three with just under 15 minutes left in regulation. An 8-0 Husker run ran their lead back to 11 with just over 12 minutes to play, though UF would battle back to within three at the six-minute mark after Dotson reeled off a streak of seven consecutive points for the Gators. Brooks, who joined classmate Dotson on the SFC all-tournament squad, knocked down a runner in the lane with 1:30 left to play, pulling the Gators to within one, but nine Nebraska free throws down the stretch sealed the final 81-73 margin.
“We changed our mindset to winning the game, instead of being defeated, and we played with a lot of heart in the second half,” Peck said. “We did a good job of taking care of the basketball against a good defensive team, and we were really aggressive on the offensive end when we needed to be.”
In the consolation game on Friday afternoon, N.C. State defeated Alabama State, 74-33, behind game highs of 16 points and eight rebounds from junior Khadijah Whittington. Sophomore L'Teisha Holloway paced the Hornets with 15 points, while redshirt freshman Jasmon Hazley pulled down a team-high five rebounds.
Florida will complete its five-game homestand on Jan. 2, when it plays host to Atlantic-10 foe Temple. The game, which is the first-half of a Gator basketball double-header, is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. EST, and will be televised by Sun Sports.
2006 State Farm Classic All-Tournament Team
MVP: Kiera Hardy, Nebraska
Sha Brooks, Florida
Marshae Dotson, Florida
Kelsey Griffin, Nebraska
L'Teisha Holloway, Alabama State
Khadijah Whittington, N.C. State
- UF -
