Senior Florida guard Sha Brooks (Jackson, Tenn.) scored a team-high 24 points, junior guard Steffi Sorensen (Jacksonville, Fla.) turned in her finest game of the season and the No. 20/24 Gators engineered an impressive second-half comeback to knock off No. 16/19 Pittsburgh, 90-83, on Sunday in the Stephen C. O'Connell Center.
Florida (11-1), which trailed the Panthers 70-62 with 9:24 remaining in the game, defeated its first top-20 team since knocking off No. 5 Tennessee on Feb. 26, 2006. The Gators' 11-game winning streak is tied for its second-longest in school history and Florida is 3-0 this season against ranked opponents, marking the first time that the Gators have defeated three consecutive ranked opponents since downing No. 21 Kentucky, No. 2 LSU and the fifth-ranked Lady Vols in succession in February of 2006.
“I am so proud of our effort in every way today,” Florida head coach Amanda Butler said. “We gave up more points than we normally do, but I thought we played some very tough defense against some great offensive players. We rose to the occasion, answered runs and had great balance. There's probably not any better way that we could have ended the first semester than this.”
Down by eight with just more than nine minutes left, Florida began employing a stifling full-court defense. A basket by junior guard Jennifer Mossor (Orlando, Fla.) sparked an 8-2 run that brought the Gators to within two, 72-70. A 3-pointer by Sorensen from the right wing, her fifth of the afternoon, gave Florida the lead back at 73-72 with 7:04 remaining.
The Panthers then scored five of the next six points to go back in front, 77-74, but junior guard Lonnika Thompson (New Orleans, La.) drilled a 3 from the left wing with 4:59 left to knot the score at 77-all. Exactly one minute later, Thompson knocked down another trey from just right of the arc to put Florida ahead, 80-77. Pitt was able to cut within one, 82-81, with 1:38 remaining, but Aneika Henry (Coconut Grove, Fla.) responded with a basket in deep and then Thompson stole the ball on the ensuing inbounds play and connected on a lay-up to give the Gators a five-point edge with 1:05 left.
“This team just keeps taking steps in the right direction,” Butler said. “We were really able to improve this week. Our team gets a lot of confidence from intense, focused practice and I think the fact that we were able to have that kind of practice this week made our players very confident about what the outcome was going to be. We had so many different individuals step up and make plays. The best part of this team is its mindset and our players wanting to be better. A No. 20 ranking is great, but we want to be better than that. I think if we stay hungry and continue finding ways to improve, it will happen.”
Brooks eclipsed the 20-point plateau for the third time this season, making 8-of-11 free throws, and tying her career-high with eight rebounds in 37 minutes of action to lead the Gators.
Sorensen recorded a career-high 15 points, including a personal-best five three pointers, dished out a career-high five assists and brought down four rebounds in a career-high-tying 31 minutes of action.
“This very well could have been Steffi's best game as a Gator,” Butler said. “I think Steffi gives us so many things that don't show up in the stat column. Today, she had five assists and no turnovers. The defense that she played and how physical she played down the stretch were just as important as the 3s that she hit. She has a great basketball IQ and had just a great all-around performance today.”
Thompson, who played just six minutes and scored three points in the first half, provided a late-game spark for Florida. Thompson finished with a career-high 16 points, including a career-best 4-for-4 from 3-point range and 5-of-6 from the floor, with one critical steal in the waning minutes.
“I think what we were able to do at the end of the game was just a reflection of the strength of our bench,” Butler said. “LT's 3s were a turning point in this ballgame that really made everybody think that we were going to win this game.”
Mossor added 11 points, while senior forward Marshae Dotson (Columbus, Ohio) chipped in nine. Junior forward Sharielle Smith (Bradenton, Fla.), whose six points moved her within two points of 500 for her career, tied for the team lead in rebounds with eight.
The Gators shot 47.0 percent (31-of-66) from the floor in the game, as Florida has now shot better than 40 percent in each of its 12 games this season and better than 45 percent in 10 of those contests. UF nailed 18-of-23 free throws and has now shot 70 percent or better from the charity stripe in three of its last four games.
Florida raced out to an 11-3 advantage to begin the game as Pitt missed three of its first four shots and was held to just one field goal over the first 4:23 of the contest. That run forced a timeout by the Panthers and brought the O'Connell Center crowd to its feet. Out of the break, the two teams traded baskets until three consecutive Pitt baskets beginning at the 15:20 mark, including a 3-pointer from the left corner by Xenia Stewart, whittled its deficit down to two, 16-14.
A turnaround jumper by Henry in the post with 13:21 remaining in the half ended the Panthers' scoring spree, but the teams then continued to trade baskets once again. With the Gators in front 24-21 after a pair of made free throws by Mossor at the 11:15 mark, back-to-back Pitt baskets gave the Panthers their first lead of the game at 25-24.
Sorensen responded with a 3-pointer from the left wing and Brooks connected on a put-back down low to allow the Gators to reclaim the advantage at 29-25 with 9:40 left until intermission. An 8-0 Pitt run moved it back in front 36-32 with 5:18 remaining in the half, but Smith knocked down two free throws and Mosser drained a 3 from the left corner to spark a 7-0 run that put Florida in front 39-36.
Florida took a 46-44 advantage into the locker room at intermission following a first half that saw four lead changes and two ties. The Gators, who shot 51.6 percent (16-of-31) from the floor in the opening period benefited from six 3-pointers and a perfect 8-for-8 from the free-throw line.
The Gators opened the second half on a 9-2 run to extend their edge to 55-46 after back-to-back baskets by Brooks, the last coming at the 17:55 mark. Pitt then ran off 14 consecutive points to move ahead 60-55 with 13:56 remaining in the game. A put-back by redshirt freshman center Ndidi Madu (Antioch, Tenn.) with 12:44 left ended the Panthers' scoring spree and the teams began trading points before a 6-2 run by Pitt that put it in front, 70-62.
The Panthers (9-2) were led by Shavonte Zellous' career-high 42 points, the second-best single-game scoring performance in Pitt school history. Stewart added 15 points, while center Pepper Wilson brought down a game-high 10 rebounds.
Florida breaks for the holidays before returning to action Dec. 29-30, when it hosts the 18th annual State Farm Classic. The Gators next square off with Vermont at 7:30 p.m. EST Friday, Dec. 29, while Miami (Ohio) and Towson meet at 5 p.m. that day.
POST-GAME NOTES
- No. 20 Florida improves to 11-1 with the victory, while No. 16 Pitt falls to 9-2 with the loss.
- The all-time series between the Gators and Panthers is tied 1-1, though Sunday's game marked the first meeting between the two squads since the 1984 campaign.
- The Gators are now 55-153 all-time vs. teams ranked in the Associated Press Top 25 at the time of the game.
- Florida is 3-0 this season against ranked opponents, marking the first time that the Gators have defeated three consecutive ranked opponents since defeating No. 21 Kentucky, No. 2 LSU and No. 5 Tennessee in succession in February 2006.
- The Gators have now posted 42 upsets of higher-ranked opponents in program history.
- Florida tied the second-longest winning streak in school history with its victory against Pitt. The Gators also accumulated such sprees in 2005-06, 2000-01, 1995-96 and 1984-85. The school record for the longest winning streak is 12, set during the 1993-94 campaign.
- Sunday's contest was the third of five consecutive home games for the Gators, who won't play on the road again until Jan. 3 at Ohio in Athens, Ohio.
- Senior guard Sha Brooks eclipsed the 20-point plateau for the third time this season and all have come against ranked opponents
- Junior guard Steffi Sorensen scored a career-high 15 points, including a personal-best five 3-pointers and a career-high five assists in a career-high-tying 31 minutes of action.
- Junior guard Lonnika Thompson scored a career-high 16 points.
Florida Head Coach Amanda Butler
“I am so proud of our effort in every way today. We gave up more points than we normally do, but I thought we played some very tough defense against some great offensive players. We rose to the occasion, answered runs and had great balance. There's probably not any better way that we could have ended the first semester than this.”
On Florida's improvement as a team …
“This team just keeps taking steps in the right direction. We were really able to improve this week. Our team gets a lot of confidence from intense, focused practice and I think the fact that we were able to have that kind of practice this week made our players very confident about what the outcome was going to be. We had so many different individuals step up and make plays. The best part of this team is its mindset and our players wanting to be better. A No. 20 ranking is great, but we want to be better than that. I think if we stay hungry and continue finding ways to improve, it will happen.”
On junior guard Steffi Sorensen's career-high 15 points and five 3-pointers …
“This very well could have been Steffi's best game as a Gator,” Butler said. “I think Steffi gives us so many things that don't show up in the stat column. Today, she had five assists and no turnovers. The defense that she played an how physical she played down the stretch were just as important as the 3s that she hit. She has a great basketball IQ and had just a great all-around performance today.”
On the play of junior guard Lonnika Thompson down the stretch …
“I think what we were able to do at the end of the game was just a reflection of the strength of our bench. LT's 3s were a turning point in this ballgame that really made everybody think that we were going to win this game.”
On Pitt as a team ...
“Every team has weaknesses, but they really are a team that we felt like is very balanced and strong in a lot of areas. We felt like we played great defense, but we still gave up 83 points. I thought we gave great defensive effort in getting them consistently out of flow. They lost their point guard [Jania Sims] early in the year and have had a couple of different players running the team.”
UF Senior guard Sha Brooks
On Florida playing aggressive defense …
“That's our game plan. We never give up and come out aggressive the whole game. The first four minutes really set the tone of how we were going to play the whole game. I thought the whole team played aggressive and that's how you have to play in order to beat good teams.”
UF Junior guard Steffi Sorensen
On her career-high 15 points with five 3-pointers…
“When I first came here, I knew I just had to let the game come to me. In the first half, they left me open and I kind of took on that role. I came out and was able to hit open shots. In the second half, they defended me more, but LT [Lonnika Thompson] was open, so we had to find her. I kind of took it personally that [Shavonte] Zellous was scoring all those points. She's a wonderful player, but we were able to come out on top in the end.”
UF Junior guard Lonnika Thompson
On her play late in the game …
“I was just really excited. We were up and we were playing great defense. That's what coach has been telling us to do in practice – to make the other team uncomfortable. We were able to make their guards uncomfortable today.”
Pittsburgh Head Coach Agnus Berenato
“Congratulations to Florida on a great game. I thought it was a really hard-fought game by both teams. It was a great environment, especially right before Christmas. I think we saw some unbelievable offense by both teams. With those shooting numbers, it makes you wonder how a team loses. I think the bottom line is that we cannot allow a team to get 90 points on us. That has not happened all year. Defensively, we had a breakdown – our man-to-man really let us down. Florida really attacked the basket and attacked it hard."
On senior guard Shavonte Zellous' career-high 42 points …
"I thought Shavonte had a phenomenal game. It was a new career-high and I think we can see all the hard work, tremendous effort and athleticism that goes into her game every day. I feel like she is really capable of All-America Status. There were times when she couldn't be stopped. I think she would give up 42 points and take zero for us to get a win any day of the week. That's the type of competitor that she is.”
On her thoughts on Florida as a team …
“They're a really good team. I think they have great chemistry. We've played a lot of good teams this year, but I really like Florida's game. They impressed me with their shooting and you have to shoot like that at home if you're a good team. Their coaching staff is really doing a nice job with them. This was a great experience for our team and I thought that the environment really had a lot to do with it. When you lose, you either get better or you get bitter. I think we will definitely get better from this.”
Pittsburgh Senior guard Shavonte Zellous
On her 42-point showing against the Gators …
“I just take it one game at a time and play to the best of my abilities. My teammates help me do that, as well as my coaching staff. I just gave it my all out there today.”
On whether Florida is one of the better teams she has faced this year…
“I think they're one of them. We played Texas A&M and also Maryland, both ranked teams, but I can say that Florida is a great team. Give credit to Florida – they really came out and attacked in the second half."
-UF-
