Junior Depree Bowden (Palmetto, Fla.) recorded her fourth double-double of the season and of her career, but it wasn't enough to overcome Florida's first-half shooting woes, as the Gators dropped a 79-51 decision to South Carolina Thursday evening at the Colonial Center.
South Carolina (12-9, 2-4 SEC) opened the game on a 24-5 run spanning 12 minutes and Florida never recovered, dropping its eighth consecutive game, the second-longest span in program history, as the Gators fell to 6-15 overall and 0-6 in Southeastern Conference play.
“The turnovers was the thing I was most disappointed with in the first half was our turnovers,” said UF head coach Carolyn Peck, whose Gators committed 24 miscues that South Carolina converted into 34 points. “The turnovers were a nightmare. Not only did we turn the ball over, but we were passive offensively, we weren't cutting hard to the basket. But what's most disappointing was that we didn't play anywhere close to how we played against Auburn.”
Bowden scored 19 points with 11 rebounds, while adding five steals and four assists in 39 minutes of action. Sha Brooks (Jackson, Tenn.), who scored 15 points in limited action, connected on her 100th career 3-pointer with 4:07 remaining in the game, becoming the seventh Gator to knock down as many while scoring in double-figures for the 14th time in the last 15 games.
“Part of the reason for the ugly start was that Sha Brooks, who started the game, had really sore knees and was limping pretty back so we had to take her out early,” Peck said. “No one really stepped up in her absence and it really hurt.”
USC's Melanie Johnson led all scorers with 22 points and 12 rebounds off the bench for the Gamecocks, who shot 42.7 percent (32-75) in the game and out-rebounded the smaller Gators, 54-45.
Florida hit 42.4 percent during the second half, but just 30.8 percent in the game.
Florida was its own worst enemy in the first half, committing 12 turnovers which South Carolina converted into 19 points. The Gators shot a woeful 18.8 percent (6-32) in the first 20 minutes while forcing just four turnovers, converting none into points, as the Gamecocks roared out to a 35-16 halftime lead.
Bowden scored quickly off the opening tip for Florida, but that would be the last Gator field goal until Marshae Dotson's (Columbus, Ohio) at the 15:37 mark which brought the score to 12-5.
USC then ripped off a 12-0 run over the next five and half minutes to build a 19-point lead, 24-5. The Gators tried to rally with a 7-1 spree that cut the deficit to 13 points, 25-12, with 5:48 remaining. The momentum was cut short, however, as the Gamecocks countered with an 8-0 march that lifted their lead to 21 points with just under three minutes left in the half.
Bowden was the most productive Gator in the opening period, scoring eight points with seven rebounds, as Florida was even in the rebounding battle with the taller Gamecocks, who shot 40 percent (16-40) and had a 10-0 advantage in fast break points.
Ten different Gamecocks got into the scoring column, one more player than Florida's entire roster contained, while UF's 16 first-half points were the second-fewest scored in an opening half by a Gator team in an SEC game.
The Gators return to action on Sunday, Jan. 28, when the team plays host to No. 14 Georgia at the O'Connell Center beginning at 4:30 p.m. The unusual start time is so the game can be televised live on Sun Sports. The radio broadcast of that game can be heard live in Gainesville on WRUF 850AM and on the internet at www.GatorZone.com.
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