Nebraska road the momentum from a game-changing 22-4 run early in the second half to hand the Florida women's basketball team a 90-63 loss Saturday evening at the Devaney Sports Center in front of 3,117.
Sha Brooks scored the first points of the second half after the Gators (2-1) opened with a defensive flurry and closed within four points, 38-34.
Nebraska (3-0) responded with a 9-0 run over the next two minutes, taking a 47-34 lead, but Brooks canned a trey to stop the run and Depree Bowden followed with a layin after a dish from Brooks, as the Gators cut the deficit to single digits. The teams traded baskets again, with Aneika Henry adding the jumper to pull Florida within eight, 49-41, with just over 14 minutes remaining.
That's when the Huskers ripped off the devastating spree over the ensuing seven minutes to take a commanding 71-45 lead and the Gators couldn't recover.
“In no way did we resemble the Florida team that defeated Xavier and Robert Morris to start the season,” UF head coach Amanda Butler said. “There was no aspect of our game that was composed or settled at any point tonight and I have to give Nebraska credit for that. They set the tone and we never adjusted to it. We lost our composure on the court and they took advantage. Nebraska played a similar style to what we'll see in the Southeastern Conference and they exposed a lot of problems that we need to correct before then.”
One bright spot of the night was the return of sophomore Sharielle Smith, who scored 12 points in her first action of the season and sparked Florida off the bench early.
Brooks and Bowden chipped in 12 points each for the Gators, who managed to out-rebound the Huskers, 49-44, collecting 26 offensive boards, but committed 33 turnovers that Nebraska converted into 38 points. Marshae Dotson, who was plagued with foul trouble for the majority of the night, collected a game-high 12 rebounds but scored just three points from the charity stripe before being whistled for her fifth foul in 21 minutes of action. Henry posted her first double-figure rebounding effort, snaring 10 boards to go along with six points and three blocks while playing 22 minutes before fouling out.
Dominique Kelley's 16 points led five double-figure scorers in a balanced attack that featured 12 different Huskers contributing offensively. Nebraska shot a steady 65.5 percent (19-29) in the second half en route to hitting 52.2 percent (35-67) during the game, while Florida managed to convert only 27.3 percent (9-33) of its attempts in the deciding second half, 30.6 percent (22-72) overall.
The Huskers started quickly, scoring the first five points of the game, before Brooks put back an offensive rebound to get the Gators on the board.
That bucket started a back and fourth trend and the teams exchanged two-point field goals eight times over a five-minute span before Brittaney Thomas continued the trend, but this time with a three-pointer, as Florida was within two.
After two more possessions trading buckets, Nebraska hit on consecutive tries, and Florida answered with back-to-back field goals by Aneika Henry and Brooks, whose make was a trey, and the Gators were again within two points, 20-18. This time, however, Florida had multiple chances to tie or even take the lead, but turnovers hampered the team's effort.
Nebraska took advantage and ripped off the next six points to spark a 14-4 spree to take a 34-22 lead with 3:33 left in the first half. Florida was able to drop the deficit under single digits, closing the period on a 9-4 march to enter the locker room down six, 38-32.
The Gators return to action on Tuesday, November 20, when Florida plays host to Prairie View A&M (1-3) in the O'Connell Center. The game, which is a doubleheader with the Gator men's team, will tip-off at 5:30 p.m. Live streaming video of the game will be available via GatorVision OnLine, accessible through www.GatorZone.com, which also airs the live radio broadcast. Fans in Gainesville can listen to the game on their radio at WRUF AM850 and on Cox Cable channel 96.
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