State Farm Classic Most Valuable Player Marshae Dotson (Columbus, Ohio) notched her first double-double of the season with 12 points and 10 rebounds as the No. 18/20 Florida women's basketball team extended its winning streak to a school-record 13 games with a 75-56 win against Miami (Ohio) on Tuesday in the Stephen C. O'Connell Center.
The Gators (13-1), who have now won the State Farm Classic in 15 of the 17 years it has been contested, broke the school record for most consecutive victories, besting the 1993-94 team's stretch of 12 consecutive wins. Florida also tied for the best 14-game start in program history.
“This is a great day for our program,” Florida head coach Amanda Butler said. “Whenever we have the opportunity to set a record and win a championship and have the pleasure of doing so on your home court in front of your home fans, it's a great day. We pushed our win total up, made some corrections from yesterday which is hard to do playing back-to-back days, and we won the rebounding war. I'm especially proud of our rebounding today because it's something we've been dwelling on in practice for the past couple of weeks.”
Florida, which has won the rebounding battle in nine of its 14 games this season, tied its season high in rebounds with 50, including a season-high 20 offensive rebounds. The Gators' +17 edge (50-33) on the boards was their largest in a game this season.
“The thing that was most pleasing to me was our play on the boards,” Butler said. “We had 50 rebounds with 20 of them on the offensive end. I thought that was the best way that we consistently attacked them (Miami) throughout the ballgame.”
Dotson, who has now been named the State Farm Classic's Most Valuable Player in each of the past two seasons, notched her 17th career double-double and the second by a Gator player this year. She has now scored in double figures on nine occasions this season.
Junior guard Steffi Sorensen (Jacksonville, Fla.) turned in a game-high 14 points, one shy of her career high, with four 3-pointers. Sorensen, who has hit at least two 3s in nine games this season, is averaging 4.0 3-pointers per game over the last three contests. Senior guard Sha Brooks (Jackson, Tenn.), who also was named to the All-Tournament Team, added 12 points and six rebounds.
Junior guard Susan Yenser (Marietta, Ga.) scored a season and UF-high 10 points with two 3-pointers and a season-high four rebounds in just 12 minutes of play.
“I was pleased with our bench play today, especially from Susan Yenser,” Butler said. “She was outstanding, scoring 10 points and getting four rebounds in 12 minutes. That's very efficient work, but it's not a surprise for us based on how well she has been performing in practice.”
Junior forward Sharielle Smith (Bradenton, Fla.) brought down 10 rebounds, giving her double-figure boards in back-to-back games, while junior guard Jennifer Mossor (Orlando, Fla.) extended her streak of consecutive free-throws made to 13. She has not missed a free throw since failing to connect on her only attempt vs. UAB on Dec. 3.
Senior center Aneika Henry (Coconut Grove, Fla.) tied her season high with three blocks.
Florida took a 29-17 advantage into the locker room at intermission after out-rebounding Miami 27-17. It was a poor shooting half for both teams, as the Gators connected on 28.6 percent (8-of-28) of their shots, while the RedHawks shot 25.0 percent (7-of-28).
The two teams battled evenly to begin the game before the Gators broke a 7-7 tie when Yenser was fouled while attempting a 3-pointer on the right wing. She knocked down two of three free throws, but her miss on the third was snagged by Henry, whose put-back at the 13:44 mark gave Florida an 11-7 lead.
Ohio cut its deficit to one on a 3-pointer by Maggie Boyer, who scored a career-high 19 points on Monday night vs. Towson, but Brooks answered with a trey of her own on the next possession. That 3-pointer was the beginning of an 8-2 run that put the Gators ahead by seven, 19-12, with 7:20 left until intermission. Florida closed the half on a 10-5 run.
The RedHawks raced out of the locker room on a 6-0 run over the first 1:11 of the second half, forcing Butler to burn a timeout.
“What was concerning to me was the beginning of the second half,” Butler said. “We didn't come out with the type of the energy that we needed. We challenged them at halftime and they didn't respond, which caused us to call an early timeout to try to refocus and get our attention to where it needed to be.”
A basket by Dotson at the 17:11 mark of the second half stopped Miami's scoring streak, but the RedHawks knocked down back-to-back hoops to cut within four, 31-27, with 16:33 left. The two teams continued to battle back and forth before the Gators, leading 39-36 with 13:46 remaining, went on a 6-1 run over the next 1:58 to go up by eight, 45-37.
Each of Florida's six points during that span was scored by Lonnika Thompson (New Orleans, La.). That run sparked a larger 14-1 scoring spree by the Gators that put them ahead 53-37 with 10:06 to go. Miami responded with six consecutive points of its own to cut within 10, 53-43, with 8:16 remaining. Back-to-back 3s by Sorensen and a lay-up by Thompson extended Florida's lead to 18, 61-43. Miami could get no closer than 16 points the rest of the way.
Miami was led by junior guard Courtney Reed's team-high 12 points. Boyer and Jenna Schone, who was named to the All-Tournament Team, each chipped in 11.
“I think we grew together as a team at this tournament,” Miami head coach Maria Fantanarosa said. “I think the level of competition last night and tonight showed that we are able to step up as far as our intensity and our competitive attitude. We scheduled this tournament because we knew that Florida was going to be a top-25 team and we were hoping to get to the final game to be able to play them. This experience of playing against a team that has such a talented inside and outside attack and is so athletic is a great learning experience and one we will grow from.”
Florida returns to action on Saturday when it travels to Athens, Ohio, to take on Ohio University (4-7). Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. EST, and is the second-half of a Bobcats' basketball double-header.
POST-GAME NOTES
· Florida improved to 13-1 on the season with the victory, tying for the best 14-game start in school history, while Miami (Ohio) drops to 8-4.
o The Gators also were 13-1 through 14 games in 2006 and 2001.
· The Gators have now won 13 consecutive games, which sets a new school record for the longest winning streak in program history.
· Florida and Miami met for the first time in school history on Tuesday, with the Gators improving to 8-1 all-time vs. teams in the current alignment of the Mid-American Conference.
· The Gators have now won 16 consecutive games against non-conference opponents at home, including an 8-0 record this season.
· Florida has won 15 of the 17 State Farm Classic Titles since the inception of the tournament.
· The Gators out-rebounded the RedHawks 50-33 and the rebounding margin (+17) was Florida's largest of the season.
o Florida has now won the rebounding battle in nine of its 14 contests this season.
o The Gators' 50 total rebounds tied a season high.
o Florida's 20 offensive rebounds were its most in a single game this season.
· The Gators held Miami to its lowest first-half point total of the season (17). Florida has held two opponents – Miami and Coppin State – to just 17 first-half points.
· Four Florida players scored in double figures for the third time this season and the second consecutive game.
· Junior guard Susan Yenser scored a season- and UF-high 10 points in just 12 minutes of action. She also added a season-high four rebounds.
· Junior guard Steffi Sorensen has hit at least two 3-pointers in nine games this season and is averaging 4.0 3-pointers over the last three games.
· Senior center Aneika Henry tied her season high with three blocks.
· Senior guard Sha Brooks had four assists in the game to increase her career assists total to 268. That moves her into 11th place on the school's all-time career assists list, surpassing Danielle Santos' 265 dishes from 2002-06.
· Junior guard Jennifer Mossor extended her streak of consecutive free-throws made to 13. She has not missed a free throw since failing to connect on her only attempt vs. UAB on Dec. 3.
TOWSON 51, VERMONT 48
Junior guard Shanae Baker-Brice scored a game-high 18 points and junior forward Katrina Wheeler added 12 as Towson held off Vermont for a 51-48 win on Tuesday in the consolation game of the State Farm Classic in the Stephen C. O'Connell Center.
Towson (8-2), which was coming off of a heartbreaking 69-68 loss to Miami (Ohio) on Monday evening, won despite being out-rebounded 49-34. The Tigers shot 36.5 percent (19-of-52) from the floor in the game, while the Catamounts hit 30.6 percent (19-of-62) of their shots.
Vermont (5-7), which fell to Florida on Monday, had two players reach double-figure point totals as senior forward Andrea Cihal had 10 points off the bench and junior guard May Kotsopoulos also added 10.
Towson, which started the game on an 11-0 run, led by no more than seven points the entire second half. Wheeler also added a game-high 13 rebounds for the Tigers.
2008 STATE FARM CLASSIC ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
MVP- Marshae Dotson, Florida
Douile Miliauskaite, Towson
May Kotsopolous, Vermont
Jenna Schone, Miami (Ohio)
Sha Brooks, Florida
-UF-
