The University of Florida women's basketball team rallied from a 17-point halftime deficit to earn a thrilling 72-66 victory over Ole Miss on Sunday at the Tad Smith Coliseum.
The comeback tied for the second-largest deficit the Gators have ever overcome, as Florida ended its regular season with a 17-12 overall record and a 6-8 mark in Southeastern Conference play.
Florida, which snapped a two-game losing streak while ending Ole Miss' two-game winning streak, out-scored the Lady Rebels 51-28 in the second half, when the Gators shot 54.5 percent from the floor, hitting 25-of-61, as well as connecting on 15-of-20 from the free throw line, and holding a 19-11 rebounding edge.
The Gators ripped out of the halftime locker room on a 7-1 run that was part of a 20-8 march covering the first six-plus minutes of the final frame that brought Florida to within five points and brought the comeback within reach.
“I'm tremendously proud of our team,” UF head coach Amanda Butler said. “The things that happened in the second half had everything to do with a team that refused to lose. It was a team that was going to battle and fight and show who we were because we knew we didn't do that in the first half. As a coach, you can't hope for anything more than to challenge your team and have them respond in the manner that they did tonight.”
The Gators next travel to Nashville, Tenn., to compete in the SEC Tournament, which begins Thursday, March 6 at the Sommet Center. Florida earned the No. 7 seed and will play South Carolina, the No. 9 seed, beginning at 3:30 p.m. ET (2:30 p.m. CT) in the first round.
| Florida's Top 3 Greatest Comeback Victories |
| Deficit (time in game) | Opponent | Final Score |
| 20 pts. (11:52, 2nd half) | @ Alabama, 1/4/92 | 103-101 2OT |
| 17 pts. (halftime) | @ Mississippi, 3/2/08 | 72-66 |
| 17 pts. (0:33, 1st half) | @ Pepperdine, 12/18/99 | 73-70 |
Florida began the second half on a 7-1 run to cut into its halftime deficit to get within 11 points, 39-28. Depree Bowden opened the spree with a three-pointer, before Marshae Dotson sank two free throws and Sha Brooks hit a jumper in the paint.
The teams traded scores for the next two minutes until Dotson put-back an offensive rebound and Sharielle Smith hit an 8-footer in the lane to get the Gators within single digits, 43-32, with 16:27 remaining.
Chantell Black halted UF's run with a three-pointer from the left side, but Jennifer Mossor quickly answered with one for the Gators from the left corner, as part of a personal 7-0 run by herself that brought Florida within five, 46-41, with 13:46 on the clock. Aneika Henry sparked Mossor's final bucket in the run, swatting a shot and Mossor streaking the length of the court for the driving lay-in.
Ole Miss (12-15, 6-8 SEC) countered with four points under the basket that quelled UF's momentum. But the Gators refused to fold, as Smith hit a trey from the top of the arc and Brooks added one free throw that brought Florida within five, 50-45, with 11:47 on the clock.
After a Lady Rebel score, Florida connected on the next five points, with Brooks hitting an outside jumper and Dotson adding a free throw and put-back on offensive rebound on a miss from Smith, who had collected Dotson's stray from the charity stripe, as the Gators were within two points, 52-50, with 10:08 remaining.
Two short buckets from Ole Miss kept UF at a six-point distance before the teams exchanged scores for the ensuing few minutes.
Brooks then converted a streaking lay-up and nailed a pair from the charity stripe to bring Florida within two, 60-58, with 5:02 left. But UM scored on its next offensive trip, with Bianca Thomas sinking a reverse layup under the basket and kept the home team on top by four, with 4:31 remaining.
Brooks lit the board again, this time with a deep three-pointer and the shot clock running down, that got Florida within one point, 62-61, and 3:22 on the clock.
Danetra Forrest took a nice lob in the paint and hit the high percentage shot for Ole Miss, keeping it a three-point game. Dotson responded with a put back of her own miss, before UM hit a pair of free throws.
Bowden then stripped the ball, streaked the length of the court, hitting the layup and was fouled, making the ensuing free throw to tie the game at 66-all with 1:28 remaining.
Brooks then stole the ball from Elizabeth Robertson, tipped it to Dotson, who threw the outlet to Bowden, who converted the layup, which gave the Gators a 68-66 lead with one minute left.
Nineteen seconds later, Brooks came up with another steal, this time of Carla Bartee, and hit a sprinting Bowden in stride, as she converted the layin and extended UF's lead to four points with 38 seconds to go.
Ole Miss then missed on its next possession and was forced to foul Brooks, the SEC's leading free throw shooter, who coolly sank both with 11.9 seconds left for the final scoring and secure the stunning six-point victory.
Brooks finished with a team-high 19 points, hitting 7-of-8 from the charity stripe and dishing four assists with three steals. Dotson scored all of her 11 points in the second half, while finishing with a game-high 13 rebounds and five steals.
Bowden, UF's lone senior, turned in 10 of her 16 points in the final 20 minutes, while Mossor tallied 11 points and four assists in the team victory.
Carla Bartee, who scored a game-high 20 points, opened the contest scoring the first six points, converting a three-point play before hitting a three-pointer to spot Ole Miss a 6-0 lead. Mossor got the Gators on the board with a 10-foot jumper and Brooks followed with a trey to get UF within one with 15:51 on the clock.
After a UM bucket Bowden hit a three-pointer from the right corner to tie the game and Mossor sank one free throw to give Florida a 9-8 lead with 14:45 remaining in the opening half.
The Gator lead was short-lived, however, as Ole Miss ripped off seven straight points to ignite a 14-3 spree over the next four and half minutes, when the Lady Rebels built a 22-12 lead with 9:41 left. Florida was shooting just 4-of-17 (23.5 percent) from the floor and trailed 17-10 in the rebounding stats at that stage of the game.
The teams basically traded scores over the next six minutes and Florida was within eight points, 27-19, with 3:54 remaining after Brittaney Thomas' driving layup. Ole Miss proceeded to end the half on an 11-2 march and extended its lead to 17 points, 38-17, entering the locker room.
Florida struggled with its shot all half, connecting on just 25 percent (7-for-28), while getting out-rebounded 29-18, allowing 11 on the offensive end where the Lady Rebels scored 10 of their points. UM also shot a steady 40 percent from the floor, hitting 14-of-35.
Interestingly, the largest comeback win in Florida occurred on January 4, 1992, when the Gators rallied from a 20-point hole with 11:52 remaining in the second half against Alabama, before turning in the 103-102 double-overtime win. Current UF head coach Amanda Butler was the starting point guard for the Gators in the victory.
