Led by 21 points from Depree Bowden's (Palmetto, Fla.) and a career-high 17 points from Jennifer Mossor (Orlando, Fla.), the University of Florida women's basketball team defeated TCU in overtime, 80-76, at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center on Sunday afternoon.
The game featured 11 lead changes and 12 ties, including the 69-69 score at the end of regulation, before the Gators (6-4) came out on top during overtime.
“You don't win games against good teams in overtime unless you're tough," UF head coach Amanda Butler said. "Our team was tough tonight and I am very proud of that."
Junior Marshae Dotson (Columbus, Ohio) scored six of her 18 points during the extra frame, when Florida outscored the Lady Frogs, 11-7, to overcome an outstanding offensive show by senior Adrianne Ross, who scored a career-high 38 points, one shy of TCU's program record.
Aneika Henry (Coconut Grove, Fla.) also stepped up big the Gators, scoring 12 points with eight rebounds and four blocks. Bowden pulled down a game-high nine rebounds, while Dotson collected eight and helped Florida win the rebounding battle, 43-37.
Dotson started the overtime period hitting two free throws, before TCU (4-6) countered with a pair from the charity line from Ross.
Henry then collected a loose ball in the paint and sank the short jumper with 2:46 left in overtime to give UF the 73-71 lead. Ross, however, canned her sixth three-pointer of the game that put TCU back in front, 74-73, with 1:52 on the clock.
That's when the Gators went on a 6-0 run, getting points from Mossor, Bowden and Dotson during the spree, as Dotson capped the march with a steal of an inbounds play under the Gator basket and sank the layin that put UF ahead by five, 79-74, with 31 seconds remaining.
TCU missed on its next offensive possession and UF held the ball, but committed its 28th turnover of the game, giving the ball back to the Frogs, who tightened the score after Moneka Knight's uncontested layup cut the Gator lead to three, 79-76 with 11 seconds to go. Dotson hit one of two free throws to seal the win, as Florida improved to 6-1 at home this season.
Mossor surpassed her previous career high of 13 points thanks to stellar shooting from behind the arc. She drained 4-of-7 opportunities from three-point land and sank 6-of-12 shots from the field for her career day. Bowden, who hit all four of her free throws, sank five three-pointers to lead Florida, which shot 45 percent (27-60) from the field, including 44 percent (11-25) from behind the arc, where the Gators tied a program record with 11 treys.
The teams traded the lead for much of the second half, both holding a lead no greater than six points when Ross connected on a free throw with 12:06 remaining to cap an 8-2 run by the Frogs. Florida responded, going on a 9-2 run of its own, taking a one-point advantage with 9:12 on the clock.
The remainder of the half featured two lead changes and four ties. Sha Brooks (Jackson, Tenn.) went to the line with 1:44 remaining and the game tied at 67-all, but missed the front-end of her one-and-one, snapping her career-long free throw streak at 25. Brooks, who ended the game with seven points and six assists, now sits just three points shy of the 1,000-career point milestone.
The Gators led by two points with 53 seconds left on the clock but a turnover followed by a lay-up from TCU's Lori Butler-Rayford tied the game with just 10 seconds remaining to send the game into overtime.
Florida took a 33-32 advantage into the locker room following the first half thanks to seven three-pointers. The Gators scored five of their first six buckets from behind the arc, accounting for 15 of their first 17 points.
Mossor kicked off the scoring for the Gators, sinking the first of her thee 3-pointers during Florida's first trip down the court. She finished the half with a team-leading nine points. Bowden also joined Mossor with nine points in the half.
The Gators held their largest lead of the game at six points with 17:04 remaining on the clock thanks to a Bowden three pointer. TCU answered back, rattling off 11 straight points over the next five-plus minutes to take a 19-14 lead, before Mossor dropped in her second three-pointer of the half to cut the lead to 19-17. Following four unanswered points for TCU, the Gators responded with a 6-0 run to tie the game at 23.
The Gators shot 46.2-percent from the field in the first half, including seven-of-12 from behind the arc. The Gators out-rebounded the Frogs, 17-11, holding a 12-eight advantage on the defensive glass.
Florida returns to action on Saturday, December 22nd, when the Gators play host to Saint Louis University at the O'Connell Center with tip-off scheduled for 1 p.m. The radio broadcast of the game can be heard live in Gainesville on WRUF 850AM and on www.GatorZone.com, the official website of the Florida Gators.
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