Sha Brooks (Jackson, Tenn.) scored 20 points and Depree Bowden (Palmetto, Fla.) added 15 but it wasn't enough to quell a pair of significant runs as the Gators lost to third-ranked and second-seeded Tennessee, 92-61, in the quarterfinals of the Southeastern Conference Tournament on Friday.
In front of a crowd of 9,938, an SEC Tournament record for Session 3, the Lady Vols ripped off a 12-1 run late in the first half after Florida was within six points, 32-26, with under seven minutes left to take a 48-33 halftime lead.
When the Gators chipped away at the deficit early in the second half and closed within 11 points and then 13, Tennessee (28-2) marched off a devastating 26-4 spree and Florida (18-13) never recovered.
“Any time you lose a ball game, you're obviously disappointed,” UF head coach Amanda Butler said. “We got beat by a very, very good team tonight. They are very talented, very deep and very well coached. There were certain aspects of our play that I was proud of, but there were areas where I was disappointed. What's impressive about Tennessee is the talent that they can bring off the bench. It's really hard to counter. Our transition defense was not our best tonight and I thought that was where we really broke down. I was really proud of our rebounding, which was a big turn-around from the first time we played them.”
Tennessee wound up with a 45-41 rebounding edge, after the Gators held the lead in the paint for most of the game. Florida, however, shot 32.5 percent (25-77) in the game and committed 17 turnovers that the Lady Vols turned into 24 points. Among UF's 41 rebounds were 20 on the offensive end, but the Gators were unable to convert those only into 11 points.
UF's leading scorer and rebounder, Marshae Dotson (Columbus, Ohio), left the floor after spraining her left knee with 13:51 remaining in the first half and UF down just five. Brooks immediately hit a three-pointer that brought Florida within two points, 14-12, but the Lady Vols outscored the Gators 28-15 over the next 10 minutes, fueled by a 12-1 late during that span and Florida never recovered.
Florida missed its first 4 shots before Lonnika Thompson (New Orleans, La.) got a 12-foot jumper to fall and Dotson pulled up for a four-footer in the paint before Brooks nailed a 25-footer from behind the arc to tie the score at 7-all at the 16:28 mark of the opening half.
Candace Parker, who finished with a game-high 26 points, sank one free throw, before Brooks followed with a driving lay-up from the left side at the 15:12 mark to give the Gators a 9-8 lead.
UT added another two from the line before a field goal at the end of a 6-0 run to build its lead back to five points. Brooks halted the spree with another deep three-pointer from the left side of the arc, but the Gators committed five consecutive turnovers that the Lady Vols turned into six more quick points and their lead grew to eight, 20-12, with 12:34 remaining.
Jennifer Mossor (Orlando, Fla.) cut the deficit with a trey from the right side to bring UF within five. After four more points from UT, Sharielle Smith (Bradenton, Fla.) added a three-pointer from the left corner and the Gators closed to six with 11:36 on the clock.
The teams traded buckets and Florida continued to use the three-ball to cut into the deficit, with Bowden canning her third of the period with 6:48 left and the Gators were down, 32-26.
That's when UT ripped off a 12-1 run over a three-minute span to assume a 44-27 advantage with 3:37 remaining. Brooks stopped UF's field-goal draught with a three and after two more UT free throws, Mossor canned one from deep with one minute remaining to bring the Gators back to within 13 points, 46-33. UT, however, claimed the final field goal of the half and took a 48-33 lead into the locker room.
Florida seemed to do everything it needed to during the first half except finish its short-range shot, as the Gators hit just 33.3 percent (12-36) and were able to score only nine second-chance points after collecting 10 offensive boards and holding a 20-18 rebounding edge.
The Gators undoing came from its 11 miscues that UT converted into 17 points.
Bowden led Florida's offensive efforts with 13 points, hitting 3-of-5 from the three-point arc, where the Gators canned 7-of-13 as a team.
UT connected on 54.8 percent from the floor (17-31) and 13-of-15 from the free throw line, as Parker scored 20 points and Shannon Bobbitt added 14 of her points on 7-of-8 free throws for the Lady Vols in the first half.
The Gators now await word of their postseason fate. The NCAA Championship field of 64 teams will be announced on Monday, March 17 beginning at 7 p.m. ET, while the 48-team Women's National Invitation Tournament unveils its field several hours later.
END OF REPORT
