Three Florida players scored in double figures, led by a team-high 11 points from senior guard Sha Brooks (Jackson, Tenn.), and the Gators orchestrated a valiant late-game comeback, falling just short in a 71-62 loss to DT-3, a travel team comprised of recent collegiate stars, on Friday in the Stephen C. O'Connell Center.
Florida trailed DT-3 by 13 points, 69-56, with 2:03 remaining in the game before scoring six consecutive points, capped off by a Jennifer Mossor (Orlando, Fla.) basket with 44 seconds left. That hoop brought UF to within seven points, 69-62. Mossor was fouled on the shot, but missed the free throw and DT-3's Tameka Kelley connected on a lay-up with 30 seconds left to seal the victory.
“I'm disappointed with the way we played tonight,” Florida head coach Amanda Butler said. “I think we were hoping we would see weaknesses exposed so that we wouldn't be misled to think we don't have things to fix before Friday's season opener. What was disappointing about tonight is that we got out-rebounded. We didn't shoot the ball well and, when you don't shoot the ball well, there are a lot more offensive rebound opportunities. We didn't capitalize on those. They controlled the tempo, they controlled the boards and we reacted to them. That's not our style.”
Brooks dished out a team-high six assists and posted three steals in a game-high 32 minutes of action. Senior forward Marshae Dotson (Columbus, Ohio) finished with 10 points and eight rebounds with three steals, while junior guard Lonnika Thompson (New Orleans, La.) also added 10 points, including two 3-pointers.
Junior guard Steffi Sorensen (Jacksonville, Fla.) had an impressive debut in a Florida uniform after transferring from Santa Fe College, scoring eight points and bringing down six rebounds. Junior forward Sharielle Smith (Bradenton, Fla.) tallied nine points and a team-high 11 rebounds, but DT-3 controlled the overall rebound battle, 50-44.
After a hot shooting first half by DT-3 (41.0 percent, 16-of-39) that gave it a 40-26 lead at intermission, the Gators limited their opponent to just 33.3 percent (10-of-30) shooting in the final period. Florida shot 35.3 percent (24-of-68) from the floor for the game.
DT-3 opened the game on a 10-0 run, holding the Gators scoreless for a span of nearly five minutes as Florida went 0-of-11 from the floor to begin the game. A three-point play by freshman center Azania Stewart (Wood Green, England) at the 15:13 mark of the opening period sparked an 8-2 run by the Gators over the next 59 seconds that brought them within four, 12-8.
After DT-3 extended its lead back out to seven, 20-13, Sorensen scored on a fast-break play off a no-look pass from Mossor to begin a 6-1 Florida run that whittled its deficit down to two, 21-19, with 8:22 remaining until intermission. From there, DT-3 ran off nine consecutive points to go up 30-19 with 5:18 left.
Florida stormed out of halftime on a 6-2 run to cut its deficit to 10, 42-32, with 17:18 left, holding DT-3 without a field goal for the first 3:31 of the second period. DT-3 built its lead out to 15, 49-34, with 15:29 remaining in the game and held a double-digit lead until the Gators began their comeback in the contest's final two minutes.
Junior guard Susan Yenser (Marietta, Ga.) saw her first collegiate game action in 624 days after transferring from Clemson following the 2006-07 season.
DT-3 was led by Nikki Teasley, a first-team collegiate All-America selection at North Carolina, who was the fifth overall pick of the 2002 WNBA draft. Teasley scored a game-high 15 points with three steals as one of four players on her team to reach double-figure point totals. UF also battled against several familiar faces, including former LSU point guard Erica White, a 2008 second-round WNBA Draft pick by the Houston Comets. White controlled DT-3's offense, scoring nine points while dishing eight assists, collecting five rebounds with a pair of steals.
“Amanda had a great year last year and things are going to continue to improve as she brings her players into this system,” DT-3 head coach Dan Olsen said. “This Florida team has a ton of talent. She has the shooters, the speed and the size they need and I think they will get better and better every game. Amanda is an outstanding coach and her players have nothing but a bright future ahead of them.”
Florida opens its 2008-09 regular season on Friday, Nov. 14, when it travels to Ft. Myers, Fla., to take on Florida Gulf Coast in a re-match of last season's WNIT Second Round game. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.
POST-GAME NOTES
- Three players made their Gator debuts tonight: junior Steffi Sorensen, freshman Azania Stewart, junior Susan Yenser.
- Freshman center Azania Stewart converted a three-point play for her first career points as a Gator and Florida's first points of the night at the 15:13 mark of the first half.
- After being down 10 points to start the game, the Gators went on a 13-4 run to cut the lead to one point with just over 12 minutes to play in the first half.
- Redshirt freshman Ndidi Madu returned to action after missing all but one game of last season with a torn ACL.
- Senior Sha Brooks led the team with 11 points, while also adding six assists.
- Senior Marshae Dotson added 10 points and eight rebounds.
- Junior Lonnika Thompson chipped in 10 points, including two three-pointers.
- The bench contributed 26 points and 24 rebounds on the night, led by junior Sharielle Smith, who had nine points and a team-leading 11 rebounds.
- The Gators outscored DT-3 36-31 in the second half.
END OF REPORT
