The University of Florida women's basketball team was unable to duplicate the stunning victory it pulled off the last time it played in Knoxville, as the third-ranked Lady Vols earned an 88-61 decision over the Gators on Thursday at Thompson-Boling Arena.
Junior Sha Brooks (Jackson, Tenn.), who scored 25 points in the 2005-06 Gator upset of the Lady Vols, tallied a team- and season-high 27 points in this year's meeting, hitting 6-of-10 from the three-point arc. Brooks' stellar offensive performance, however, wasn't nearly enough to counter Tennessee's rebounding dominance, as the Lady Vols (26-2, 12-2 SEC) held a 57-35 advantage in the paint, with 25 of those on the offensive end alone, helping the home team outscore the Gators (16-12, 5-8 SEC), 40-16 in the paint.
“Sha played fantastic and shot the ball like we've wanted her to all season and that was great to see,” UF head coach Amanda Butler said. “Other players had some great moments, but nothing consistent from beginning to end. You cannot come to Knoxville and not rebound. We were dominated in the paint and allowed them to have 25 extra shots because of their offensive rebounding. I'm really disappointed with that aspect of our game. I thought we did play tough in some areas, but rebounding was not one of them. You can shoot the ball great, but if you don't rebound and give a great team like Tennessee 25 extra chances, you're going to get beat by 20-some points.”
In its final home game of the season, Tennessee road the strength of its rebounding prowess and a devastating 25-4 run early in the first half that Florida was unable to match en route to the win.
Playing in her final home game, All-American Candace Parker and redshirt junior both scored 18 points to lead a balanced UT scoring effort. Nicky Anosike added a double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds, while Angie Bjorklund hit 14 points, connecting on four of UT's nine three-pointers.
Marshae Dotson (Columbus, Ohio) opened the game's scoring, after the Gators made a defensive stand. UT countered, hitting the boards hard and scoring the next five points, before Brooks ended the mini run with a driving lay-up and Florida was within one. After Candace Parker tallied a bucket in the paint, Brooks answered with another jumper and the Gators were again within one point, 7-6, with 16:04 remaining.
Tennessee stepped up even more on the boards, exploiting their superior height advantage that ignited 10 straight points as part of a devastating 18-2 run that found the Gators trailing 25-8 with just under eight minutes remaining in the half. Depree Bowden's baseline drive provided the lone Florida points during the spree, as UT held a commanding 24-11 advantage on the boards, collecting 12 on the offensive end alone.
Jennifer Mossor (Orlando, Fla.) broke up the spell with a 12-footer from the left side at the 7:35 mark, before the Lady Vols rattled off seven more points to extend their lead to 32-10 with 4:37 remaining.
Brooks and Dotson then caught fire, and helped Florida answer all except one UT bucket for the remainder of the half, with Brooks canning her third three-pointer of the period at the buzzer, as the Gators found themselves down 46-26 entering the locker room.
UF shot 30 percent (10-33) during the first half, while UT hit 40.5 percent (17-42) that included a 5-of-10 effort from the three-point arc.
UT's dominance in the paint was the biggest difference in the opening half, as the Lady Vols held a 30-18 advantage, grabbing 14 offensive rebounds, while out-scoring the Gators 22-8 in the paint. Florida also committed 12 turnovers during the first half that resulted in 12 Lady Vol points.
Florida next travels to Oxford, Miss., to play Ole Miss (12-14, 6-7 SEC) on Sunday in the regular-season finale for both teams. The radio broadcast of the game can be heard live in Gainesville on WRUF-850AM and through www.GatorZone.com, the official website of the Florida Gators.
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