University of Florida junior Depree Bowden (Palmetto, Fla.) recorded a career-high 25 points and sophomore Sha Brooks (Jackson, Tenn.) added 26 more, but it wasn't enough to fend off a late second-half rally, as the Gators lost to Temple in overtime, 85-80, Tuesday afternoon at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center.
Florida (6-9) led by 10 points, 66-56, with four minutes remaining in regulation, but managed just one field goal the rest of the period, as the Owls (9-4) tied up the game, 70-70, and forced overtime.
Temple came out quickly in the extra stanza, as Kamesha Hairston, who finished with a game-high 34 points and 10 rebounds, sank a layup off the tip. Bowden countered with a jumper in the paint to even the score, before TU's Shenita Landry hit two free throws to give the Owls a 74-72 lead.
The Owls pushed their overtime lead to six points, 78-72, but the Gators battled back and were within two, 78-76, after Marshae Dotson's layin with 2:27 remaining. After two more Temple free throws, Brooks slashed the lane for a jumper to get the Gators within three, 81-78, with 1:18 on the clock and had a chance to tie, but Kim Dye's three-pointer from the right corner was on-line, but just short, hitting the front of the rim and Hairston collected the miss and the Owls sealed the win from the free throw line.
“You have to compliment Temple because they did a tremendous job on commanding the boards. We simply didn't do a good job of taking care of the ball with our 25 turnovers, and between the turnovers and rebounds, we sacrificed the game,” Florida head coach Carolyn Peck said. “This is an experience that our team hasn't been in yet this year. Hopefully, this experience proves to be a very good teacher for us.”
Temple won the rebounding battle, 46-38, collecting 25 on the offensive end, while shooting 44.2 percent in the game, including 54.3 percent in the second half and 80 percent (4-5) in overtime. Lakeisha Eaddy and Shenita Landry added 18 and 11 points, respectively, to join Hairston in double-figure scoring, while Lady Comfort collected a game-high 11 rebounds with eight points.
“During overtime, we knew we would have to maintain possession of the ball every time we had it," Temple head coach Dawn Staley said. "We knew we had an advantage in the post players coming into this game, and we just tried to capitalize on the height advantage that we had. We dug ourselves into a hole in the first half because we gave up too many easy buckets, but we found a way to stop that later in the second half.”
Florida hit 46.3 percent (31-67) of its shots but committed 25 turnovers during the 45 minutes. The Gators led by as many as 14 points, 30-16, with 5:15 remaining in the first half, but Temple never surrendered, closing the opening period on a 7-2 run to cut UF's lead to 32-24 by halftime. Temple also used a 16-6 run in the final four minutes of regulation to force overtime.
Florida turned the ball over four times during overtime, but hit 5-of-9 from the floor. Temple canned 4-of-5, but converted 7-of-9 from the free throw line while the Gators did not manage one trip.
“I had too many turnovers – eight is unacceptable for me. I definitely learned a lesson in taking better care of the ball today,” UF's Brooks said.
“I was just trying my hardest to win this game. I don't think some of my teammates understood the importance of winning this game, but I was getting tired of losing every year,” added Temple's Hairston about earning the Owls' first win in the four-game series.
This was the final non-conference game for Florida, which opens Southeastern Conference action Thursday, Jan. 4, at No. 14 Georgia.
- UF -
