Sophomores Marshae Dotson (Columbus, Ohio) and Sha Brooks (Jackson, Tenn) combined for 50 points, but it still wasn't enough to carry Florida to its first Southeastern Conference win, falling to Auburn, 74-69, Thursday night at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center in front of a crowd of 2,023.
The Gators (6-13, 0-4 SEC) again showed their fight after spotting the Tigers a 14-point lead to open the game, as Brooks knotted the game at 48-48 on a slashing lay-up with 11:03 remaining. Auburn (15-5, 2-2 SEC), however, answered with a 9-0 run to go up, 57-48, with 8:17 remaining.
The Gators refused to fold, bouncing back with an 8-0 run to bring the game within one, 57-56, at the 5:47 on the clock. The game remained a close contest until the end, as Florida trailed only two with 0:26 remaining before Auburn sank three free throws to give the game its final margin.
“Unfortunately we got off to a slow start at the beginning of both halves,” Florida head coach Carolyn Peck said. “I thought we did a good job of fighting back, but we've got to do a better job of getting it going early on because we play well once we get it going. You also have to get Auburn credit for playing a good game.”
Dotson's career-high 26 points led all scorers. It was her fifth time scoring at least 20 points this season, tallying four of those in the last six games. She also added a team-high eight rebounds. Brooks added 24 points in the combined 50-point effort, before fouling out with 24.1 seconds remaining marking the first time in her career she reached the five-foul limit.
Florida closed the first half on a 15-1 run over the final 5:13 to enter the locker room down just two, 29-27. With Auburn leading 28-12, Brooks sparked Florida's closing run scoring the game's next seven points and finishing the run with nine points. Dotson came up big with the remaining six points of the run, including the half's final four points. The run included an 11-0 stretch that was ended by a free throw from Auburn's Jordan Greenleaf. The Tigers built the advantage by opening the game with a 14-0 run of their own. Brooks and Dotson led the Gators in scoring through the first period with 11 points each.
For Auburn, DeWanna Bonner netted a double-double, tying for the team-high with 21 points while pulling in 15 rebounds. Whitney Boddie also contributed 21 points for the Tigers. Auburn was 22-of-34 (64.7 percent) from the charity stripe including five free throws in the final 0:49 seconds – three from Boddie and two from Bonner. Boddie finished the night going 11-for-14 from the line.
The Gators shot 60.0 percent from the line going 9-for-15 including 4-for-5 performances from both Dotson and Brooks.
From beyond the arc, the Gators held the edge, making four baskets while not allowing the Tigers to make a three-pointer going 0-for-6.
“One of the things we want to build on is to continue to do the things we do well. We will look at the things we do not do well and try to correct those areas,” Peck said.
The Gators return to the court on Sunday, Jan. 21, when the Arkansas Lady Razorbacks (17-3, 2-2 SEC) visit the O'Connell Center. Tip off is set for 3 p.m. ET. The radio broadcast of the game can be heard in Gainesville on WRUF-850AM and thru the internet at www.GatorZone.com.
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