Senior Sha Brooks (Jackson, Tenn.) scored a team-high 15 points, hitting 9-of-9 from the free throw line, and helped the University of Florida women's basketball team defeat N.C. State, 66-61, on Sunday afternoon in Reynolds Coliseum.
Brooks, who also was starting her 100th consecutive game, dished a career-high nine assists to lead another balanced scoring attack for the Gators, who won their eighth straight game.
Senior Marshae Dotson (Columbus, Ohio) added 13 points with a game-high nine rebounds, while junior Steffi Sorensen (Jacksonville, Fla.) contributed 11 points and freshman Trumae Lucas (Greensboro, N.C.) provided a career-best nine points on 4-of-5 shooting while seeing 21 minutes of court time. Three other Gators accounted for four points apiece, as 10 of the 11 who saw action scored during Florida's fourth consecutive road game and its fifth away from Gainesville in the last six contests.
“This win is fantastic, it really is. It shows mental toughness that you can handle adversity when you play on the road,” UF head coach Amanda Butler said. “Things aren't always going to go your way, that's just the way it is and you have to expect that. For us to be able to handle the travel and everything that comes with it and still get walk away with a victory feels great.”
Florida (8-1) led the game from the first basket to the final horn, but it wasn't easy as Shayla Fields and Nikitta Gartrell seemed to score every time the Gators tried to pull away, as the two finished with 25 and 12 points, respectively, for the Wolfpack (4-5), who suffered their fourth straight loss, but just their first home setback in four outings this season.
“To take the lead in this ballgame and never give it up is what I'm most proud of tonight,” Butler shared. “I think it's very important to get a lead and keep the lead in a game like this and against a coaching legend that Kay Yow is. It's just an honor to be able to compete against her.”
Dotson hit back-to-back buckets early in the second half to stop a 5-0 N.C. State-run that cut UF's lead to three points, 34-31. The teams traded scores for the next several minutes, when Gartrell hit a pair of free throws to get the Pack again within three, 43-40, with 10:11 remaining.
That's when Lucas, a native of Greenboro, N.C., who was playing in her home state for the first time wearing Gator orange & blue, nailed a three-pointer from the corner in front of Florida's bench to ignite a 9-0 spree that lasted just under three minutes.
N.C. State responded with buckets from Tia Bell and Sharnise Beal and dropped the difference to single-digits again, but Sorensen stepped up and canned her second trey of the game, before Lucas finished a transition layup after a steal and dish from Brooks, giving the Gators a 59-46 advantage with 4:33 remaining.
Even with UF sporting a 13-point lead, N.C. State refused to fold, as Gartrell stepped up and nailed a trey with 3:25 to go and brought more energy to the Wolfpack and their fans.
Florida, however, came right back and Dotson made a difficult catch in the paint and finished to spot the Gators a 12-point advantage with 2:59 on the clock.
“I'm so proud of Marshae and how she continues to battle every night,” Butler said. “It seems like she gets beat up every game but is able to keep her composure. She had a fantastic catch tonight in the paint and was able to finish a big bucket for us. She's a senior and she played like it. She's a very good ball player.”
Fields then scored all the N.C. State points during the Wolfpack's ensuing 7-1 run and got within six points, 62-56, with 34 seconds remaining. The hosts then turned to fouling and it almost worked the first time, as Lonnika Thompson (New Orleans, La.) missed the front end of a one-and-one, but the Dotson battled for the loose ball which went out of bounds off one of the Wolfpack players.
Brooks then took her turn from the charity stripe and the Gator veteran did not miss, hitting all four attempts in the final 29 seconds, including the final two with 11 ticks, that gave UF a 66-59 lead. Gartrell's final attempt under the basket fell in as the final horn sounded, but it wasn't enough as the Gators earned their third road victory of the year.
“Sha stepping up to the free throw line and hitting those pressure shots; we had another very balanced scoring night,” Butler said. “Our bench was fantastic again tonight, and not just the players who got into the game. Everyone on the bench kept the energy up and spirit up the whole game. There was a great contingency of fans who came and out and supported us. Some of the members from the Gator Club of Raleigh were here, as well as several friends and family and all really helped tonight.”
N.C. State struggled with its shot all game, hitting just 32.9 percent (23-70) for the contest, including a 27.2 percent mark during the first half, but did hold a 45-40 rebounding advantage against Florida, which shot a season-low 40.7 percent (22-54) during the game, but converted 18-of-22 from the free throw line. It was just the second time this season the Gators had been out-rebounded.
After four games and 16 days, the Gators finally will return to Gainesville and the friendly confines of the O'Connell Center on Wed., Dec. 10, when they play host to Coppin State. The mid-week game is the second of two basketball double-headers with the Florida men's team this season and tip-off for Wednesday's women's game is set for 5:30 p.m., before the Gator men hit the court at 8 p.m. against Florida Gulf Coast.
“Today was a fun win and one in a tough place to play. When you're able to gut out a win like this on the road is a sign of mental toughness. Winning on the road in the Southeastern Conference is extremely difficult and a game like this was great preparation. We can continue to build on this road victory, but it's going to be nice to get home,” Butler admitted.
Gator Post-Game Notes:
*The Gators have won eight consecutive games, which includes three at away sites and a pair on neutral court.
*Sha Brooks started her 100th consecutive game; she has never missed a game during her career, has started all but one game during her collegiate tenure. Her streak is the second-longest in program history, trailing only Murriel Page (1994-98), who started the final 109 games of her All-American career.
*N.C. State ended UF's season last year in WNIT Round of 16 game played at Reynolds Coliseum, 80-55.
*Brooks scored in double-figures for the sixth time this season and the 74th time in her career.
*Marshae Dotson scored in double-figures for the sixth time this season and the 57th time in her career.
*Dotson's third rebound during the game was the 700th of her career.
*Seffi Sorensen scored in double-figures for the second time this season and in her career.
*Trumae Lucas scored a career-high nine points, while playing a season-long 21 minutes.
*Sunday's game was Florida's fifth on the road in its last six contests.
*UF was out-rebounded for just the second time this season.
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