Seniors Sha Brooks (Jackson, Tenn.) and Marshae Dotson (Columbus, Ohio) set individual milestones in leading the 19th-ranked University of Florida women's basketball team to a 77-63 victory over South Carolina Thursday evening at Columbia Life Arena.
The senior pair combined to score 44 points en route to helping the Gators (16-2, 2-1 Southeastern Conference) record their first conference road win of the season. South Carolina lost its third straight game, falling to 8-8 overall and 0-3 in SEC play.
During the game, Brooks became UF's all-time made free thrower, passing former Gator All-American DeLisha Milton, who converted 364 free throws from 1993-97. She tied Milton's mark with 10:51 remaining in the first half, when she completed a three-point play that cut South Carolina's early 14-8 lead in half and ignite a 22-7 lead that helped the Gators take a 35-25 halftime lead. Brooks also started her 109th career came, tying Murriel Page, who also started the final 109 games of her All-American career from 1994-98.
In addition to scoring a game-high 25 points, Brooks also tied her career high with nine assists in the game and collected four steals, while committing just three turnovers. Fittingly, she converted 9-of-9 from the free throw line.
Dotson shot a perfect 8-for-8 from the field and hit 3-of-4 from the free throw line, while grabbing a team-high six rebounds.
The victory also marked the 75th career victory for head coach Amanda Butler, who now sports a 75-38 record in her three-plus years as a Division I head coach, including a 35-16 record in her second season at her alma mater.
Florida used two significant runs to earn the win, including the 21-11 run midway through the second half that gave the Gators a commanding 65-42 lead with just under eight minutes to play.
South Carolina did mount a late charge and whittled their deficit to nine points, 68-59, with 54 seconds remaining. Butler then reinserted several starters back into the game, where they iced it at the free throw line, where Brooks hit a four, Lonnika Thompson (New Orleans, La.) hit both attempts and Sharielle Smith (Bradenton, Fla.) made one.
Florida's swarming defense forced 24 turnovers that it was able to convert into 29 points. In addition to her nine points, Smith collected a career-high five steals as part of the Gators' 14 during the contest, where they also converted a steady 19-of-25 from the free throw line.
"Any time you can go on the road and get a win in the Southeastern Conference, you're pleased," Butler said. "Of course, you always see things you wish your team would have done better, but I think that's the way every coach feels after a game.
"I was especially proud of these two (Brooks and Dotson, who attended the post-game press conference with Butler), they played liked seniors," Butler praised. "Their experience really showed. They hit shots consistently. When we play our best ballgames, it seems like a lot of different players really step up. While Sha and Marshae had the bulk of our scoring tonight, Sharielle hit some big shots and collected huge steals. Aneika Henry (Coconut Grove, Fla.) had some big defensive plays. We got great minutes from our freshmen. We were really focused coming into the game. Coming off of the Auburn loss, we were really ready to play and we did get better."
The teams traded field goals to start the second half and with UF leading, 37-29, the Gators scored six straight points to take a 14-point advantage, USC came right back and tallied the next four. Steffi Sorensen (Jacksonville, Fla.) hit a driving layup, followed by a bucket from Dotson and two free throws from Brooks.
With Florida holding a 43-33 lead with 15:38 remaining in the game, Smith (Bradenton, Fla.) hit a bucket underneath and Thompson (New Orleans, La.) was the recipient of a loose-ball scramble that eventually found its way to Brooks, who found Thompson open for the 8-foot jumper.
Those points ignited a 22-11 run that ended with Sorensen knocking down a trey in her 13th consecutive game and Florida holding a 65-44 lead with 7:42 remaining.
Brooks scored eight points during the big second-half run, including six straight in the game during transition.
Florida shot 45.8 percent during the game, while South Carolina hit 44.3 percent of its attempts and held the 37-32 rebounding advantage.
Brionna Dickerson led USC with 20 points and seven rebounds, while Demetress Adams added 10 points and nine rebounds and Samone Kennedy chipped in 11 points.
Florida shot just 3-of-12 over the first 10:31 of the game and fell behind 14-8, but that's when Brooks converted a three-point play and Azania Stewart (England) put-back an offensive rebound to close the gap to one, 14-13, with 10:14 on the clock. After Demetress Adams pulled up for an eight-foot jumper, UF's full-court press caused a turnover deep in USC territory and Sorensen came up with the loose ball and dished it to Brooks, who converted the easy layin and spark a 15-4 run that gave the Gators a 28-20 lead with 3:55 remaining in the period.
One Gamecock free throw later and the Gators were back to scoring and extending their run, as Brook hit both ends of a one-and-one, with the first making her UF's all-time free throw leader with 365. Brionna Dickerson then hit at pair from the stripe, before Susan Yenser (Marietta, Ga.) nailed a three-pointer from the left arc and Thompson hit a jumper to cap the 22-7 spree that gave the Gators a 35-23 lead with 55 seconds remaining in the half.
Adams finally ended USC's field goal drought that lasted almost five and half minutes, hitting an outside jumper with 34 seconds left to end the opening stanza's scoring that saw the Gators take a 35-25 halftime lead.
Florida improved its shooting and buckled down defensively, as the Gators hit 41.4 percent from the floor and held the Gamecocks to a 35.7 percent effort. UF also collected seven steals off of 12 USC turnovers that resulted in 12 points.
Dotson powered up 13 points with six rebounds, hitting 5-of-5 from the floor and 3-of-4 from the free throw line to lead a balanced scoring effort, as seven different Gators contributed offensively. Dotson's 12th point of the half was the 1,300th of her career.
Florida returns to action on Sunday, when the team plays host to SEC-rival Georgia in the O'Connell Center beginning at 2 p.m. ET. The game will be nationally televised by FSN and the broadcast team of Ron Thulin and former Gator head coach Carol Ross.
Sunday's game will feature several special promotions and off-court events, including Florida's WBCA Pink Zone, an initiative for breast cancer awareness. The first 1,000 fans receive a Gators Pink Zone t-shirt courtesy of Sun Sport.
Check www.GatorZone.com for additional promotions and events occurring at Sunday's game.
