Heading into its Southeastern Conference opener with Mississippi State on Thursday, the No. 18/19 Florida women's basketball team faced several considerable obstacles. The Gators, who do not start a player taller than 5-foot-11, would be forced to content with a Bulldog front-line that featured four 6-footers in its regular playing rotation and the game was scheduled for a non-conventional 5 p.m. tip-off.
Behind a career-high 31 points from senior guard Sha Brooks (Jackson, Tenn.), the Gators found a way to win as they have all season, fighting a stifling defense and one of the tallest teams in the SEC, to notch a resounding 80-66 victory against Mississippi State in the Stephen C. O'Connell Center. The game was played in front of 6,500 fans, the third-largest crowd in school history.
“This is a great win for a lot of reasons,” Florida head coach Amanda Butler said. “We were playing against a very talented SEC team, we were at home and so many Gator fans were here to see and appreciate how hard these ladies play. The bottom line and the biggest reason this is a great win is because we are 1-0 in the league. This is what we've been waiting for and preparing for. I am proud of our team for taking advantage of this opportunity.”
Brooks, who charted her fourth 20-plus point game of the season and the 21st of her career, became the first Florida player to score 30 or more points since Bernice Mosby poured in 31 points against George Washington on Dec. 22, 2003. She also tied a season high with four steals in 37 minutes of action.
“I just came out and tried to be aggressive,” Brooks said. “Mississippi State is a very aggressive team and I've been working on my jump shot, especially coming off on-ball screens and I was able to hit a lot of those shots tonight. I have to give it up to our post players who were setting me up and found me open.”
The Gators improved to 15-1 for the first time in school history, extending their school-record win streak to 15 consecutive contests. Florida, which now has a 10-game home winning streak, won an SEC opener for the first time since 2006.
“I think that there are a lot of different factors [to the team's 15-game winning streak],” Butler said. “We have just found different ways to win. It just seems like each week, each day, we have found something new about this team that is a positive. It speaks to how hard they work everyday in practice.”
Florida shot 51.8 percent (29-of-56) from the floor, its highest shooting efficiency in a conference game since connecting on 56.5 percent of its shots against Alabama on Jan. 13, 2008. Three Gators scored in double figures for the seventh time this season.
Senior forward Marshae Dotson (Columbus, Ohio) scored 17 points and brought down nine rebounds, just missing her second double-double this season. Dotson also tied her career high with a game-high five steals, while junior forward Sharielle Smith (Bradenton, Fla.) added 11 points.
The Gators were locked in a 37-37 tie with the Bulldogs at intermission despite the fact that Mississippi State controlled the tempo for much of the opening period. Florida began employing a zone defense out of the halftime locker room that forced the Bulldogs into 13 second-half turnovers. For the game, the Gators scored 36 points off of 25 Mississippi State miscues.
“The zone kind of allowed us to control tempo,” Butler said. “And we were still able to press a little bit. When we're able to play 94 feet of defense, our team feels most confident. We were able to force some turnovers that led to some easy baskets. We got the lead and one of the toughest things to do is, when you get the lead in a hard way against good teams, you have to find ways to maintain it or grow it, and our team has been able to do that this year. I thought our zone defense was a big part of the momentum and tempo of the second half.”
Smith scored Florida's first six points of the second half, as the Gators opened the final period on an 8-4 spree that put them ahead 45-41 with 17:04 left in the game. Mississippi State then ran off five consecutive points to reclaim the advantage at 46-45, but Brooks and Dotson nailed back-to-back baskets to put the Gators ahead 49-46 with 15:34 remaining.
That was the beginning of an 8-0 run that extended Florida's advantage to seven, 53-46 with 15:34 to go in the game. With Florida in front 55-48, the Bulldog's Tysheka Grimes scored baskets on two consecutive plays to bring Mississippi State within three, 55-52.
The two teams traded points until a pair of free throws by Smith began a 7-0 run by the Gators that was capped off by back-to-back lay-ups from Brooks. The first of those lay-ups was created by a steal from Dotson outlet pass to junior guard Steffi Sorensen (Jacksonville, Fla.), who fed a behind-the-back pass to Brooks for the basket. She was fouled and knocked down her free throw. That athletic play, which put Florida in front 72-61 and brought the raucous crowd to its feet.
“I knew Sha was coming behind me and I had a huge girl on me, so I was fortunate that she caught it and made the play,” Sorensen said. “It was a big momentum play.”
Mississippi State got no closer than nine points the rest of the way.
The two teams entered halftime locked in a 37-37 tie. Both teams were extremely effective from the floor in the opening period as the Gators shot 51.6 percent (16-of-31), while the Bulldogs connected on 46.7 percent (14-of-30) of their field goals.
Mississippi State dictated the tempo early with stifling defense, but Florida was able to break to an 11-4 advantage at the 15:01 mark after a 3-pointer by Sorensen on the left wing and a basket by Lonnika Thompson (New Orleans, La.). The Bulldogs responded with a 9-0 run capped off by three 3-pointers, including two by Alexis Rack, to claim the advantage at 15-11 with 12:21 left until intermission.
Dotson and Brooks hit back-to-back hoops to tie the score at 15-15 with 11:39 remaining in the period. From there, Mississippi State's Chanel Mokango scored on four consecutive trips down the floor as part of an 8-3 run that gave the Bulldogs a 23-18 advantage with 8:54 left in the half. The two teams traded points for the next five minutes until Sorensen knocked down a 3 and Dotson posted up for a basket inside to cut Florida's deficit to one, 30-29, with 2:48 remaining until intermission.
After a free throw by the Bulldogs, Dotson connected on a lay-up and Brooks had back-to-back baskets to put the Gators ahead by one, 35-34, following a 6-3 run. The two teams traded 3-pointers before heading into the locker room in a deadlock.
Mississippi State (12-3) was led by 6-foot-5 junior forward Mokango, who scored a team-high 17 points to complement a squad-best nine rebounds. Junior guard Armelie Lumanu added 14 points, five assists and four steals.
“Florida is a very good basketball team and I have to really give them credit,” Mississippi State head coach Sharon Fanning said. “With Brooks and Dotson, their leadership is really apparent on this team. They are very good athletes who are just mentally tough. It takes toughness to be successful in our league and I don't think we rose to the occasion tonight.”
Florida returns to action on Sunday when it travels to Auburn, Ala., to take on undefeated and No. 9/8-ranked Auburn. Tip-off in Beard-Eaves Memorial Coliseum is slated for 3 p.m. EST.
POST-GAME NOTES
· Florida improves to 15-1 overall, 1-0 in the Southeastern Conference. The Gators' 15-1 mark is its best 16-game opening record in school history. Mississippi State dropped to 12-3 with the loss.
· The Gators are now 13-14 all-time in SEC openers, including an 8-4 record when that game is played at home.
· Florida is on a school-record 15-game winning streak.
· Mississippi State still leads the all-time series between the two schools 18-17.
· Florida shot 51.8 percent (29-of-56) from the floor, its highest shooting efficiency in a conference game since connecting on 56.5 percent of its shots against Alabama on Jan. 13, 2008.
· Senior guard Sha Brooks scored a career-high 31 points in the game, making her the first Gator to score 30 or more points since Bernice Mosby poured in 31 points against George Washington on Dec. 22, 2003.
o Brooks eclipsed the 1,500-point mark for her career.
o The game marked the 21st 20-plus point game of Brooks' career, including her fourth this season.
o She also tied a season high with four steals.
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