Sha Brooks (Jackson, Tenn.) scored a game-high 17 points but it wasn't enough to lead Florida to victory, as the Gators lost to Auburn, 78-62, at Beard-Eaves Memorial Coliseum on Thursday evening.
Junior Depree Bowden (Palmetto, Fla.) also contributed double figures, netting 14 points for Florida (7-21, 1-12 SEC), which was out-scored by just two points in the second half but couldn't overcome a 14-point halftime deficit.
After Florida cut that hole in half, Auburn used a game-breaking 15-0 run midway through the second period and the Gators never recovered.
“Auburn's second chance opportunities really made a different during that run,” Florida head coach Carolyn Peck said. “Marshae (Dotson) was in foul trouble and Auburn took advantage of that by going inside and hitting their shots.”
The Tigers (18-11, 5-8 SEC) used two healthy runs to distance themselves in the first half, taking a 38-24 lead after the first 20 minutes of play, when Florida shot just 30.3 percent (10-33).
“Effort. Effort was the big culprit in the first half,” Peck said. “Auburn brought the intensity and we didn't. That was the biggest difference. These kids are in a tough situation right now and we talked about that at halftime. They can use it as an excuse or toughen up and battle through it. In the first half, we used it as an excuse, our minds were somewhere else and we were feeling sorry for ourselves and there's no time for that. When the lights come on and the ball goes up, we have to play.”
Auburn's significant height advantage and Florida's frontcourt foul trouble, forced the Gators to shoot the ball from the outside, where they hit just 3-of-22 three-pointers during the game, while shooting 37.3 percent overall.
Jordan Greenleaf scored 16 points to lead a balanced Tiger scoring attack that featured four players in doubles-figures, including a 15-point, 11-rebound effort from DeWanna Bonner.
The teams traded baskets for the first five minutes of the second half and Florida was unable to make up any ground on its 14-point halftime deficit until Sha Brooks hit an 8-foot jumper to spark a 9-0 spree that brought the Gators within seven points, 48-41, with 12:21 remaining. Briana Phillips capped the march with a three-point play, putting back an offensive rebound and making the free throw after being fouled.
Auburn, however, responded with a devastating 15-0 run over the next three minutes, as the Tigers' lead ballooned to 22 points with just under nine minutes left in the game.
Florida tried to get back into the game, using a 8-0 run with a trey from Brooks, a three-point play from Jennifer Mossor and a 6-foot jumper from Kim Critton, which cut the deficit to 14 points, 70-56, with 3:26 remaining, but the hole was too much to overcome for the Gators, who had their two-game win streak in the state of Alabama snapped.
Auburn opened the game with a quick bucket in the paint before Sha Brooks answered for Florida with a deep 3-pointer to give the Gators a 3-2 advantage. The teams traded equal baskets for the next four minutes which featured six lead changes.
With UF holding a 9-8 lead after Depree Bowden's nifty pass-fake layin with just over 15 minutes left in the half, Auburn's Joanna Clayden scored eight points during an 11-0 run, as the Tigers raced out to a 19-9 advantage. Marshae Dotson stopped the spree with a scoop shot under the basket, but Auburn scored the next for points and upped its lead to 12 at the 11:34 mark.
The Gators refused to fold and mounted a 7-1 run and cut the deficit to six points, 24-18, with 8:45 on the clock. The teams then traded buckets for the next few minutes before the Tigers closed the half on a 12-4 spree and took a 38-24 halftime lead. More importantly for the Gators, during Auburn's half-ending stretch, Dotson and Phillips each collected their third personal foul, as Florida's frontcourt took a blow.
Bowden scored eight points with five rebounds in the first half to lead Florida, which shot just 30.3 percent (10-33) and was out-rebounded, 25-18. The taller Tigers, who took advantage of UF's foul troubles, hit 46.7 percent (14-30) from the floor to build their 14-point halftime edge.
The Gators return to the O'Connell Center on Sunday, Feb. 25, to play host to Kentucky in the regular-season finale. The radio broadcast of that game can be heard live in Gainesville on Rock 104FM. UF seniors Kim Dye and Briana Phillips will be honored during a pre-game ceremony.
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