Senior Florida guard Sha Brooks (Jackson, Tenn.) scored a game-high 29 points and the No. 11/13 Gators notched just their third all-time victory against No. 12/17 Tennessee with a thrilling 66-57 victory on Sunday in front of 8,060 fans in the Stephen C. O'Connell Center.
The win marked the Gators' fourth this season against a ranked opponent and, more importantly, it kept Florida atop the Southeastern Conference standings. The Gators' current streak of seven consecutive league victories sets a new school record.
“This was a fantastic win,” Florida head coach Amanda Butler said. “The most important thing is to continue to get SEC wins. I said before the game, 'We don't get a bonus point for beating Tennessee.' That's the truth. At the same time, we have so much respect for a program like that for what they have done. It's a huge, huge confidence builder for our team and it is a great, great day for our program.”
The Gators (22-2, 8-1 SEC) trailed by seven, 50-43, with 7:29 remaining in the game when Florida turned up the defensive pressure and the second-largest crowd in school history turned up its intensity. The Gators used a 12-2 run over the next 4:10 to go ahead 55-52.
“I really felt like the difference in the ballgame was when we decided we were going to play defense,” Butler said. “We were confident that our offense was going to come, but we knew if we were going to have a chance against a team like that, it was going to be about stops. They're too good for us to give individuals like that easy baskets.”
Tennessee cut within two, 57-55, with 2:08 left to play before junior guard Steffi Sorensen (Jacksonville, Fla.) knocked down a 3-pointer off an inbounds pass from Brooks to put the Gators back up by five. Florida nailed 5-of-6 free throws in the game's final 28 seconds to secure the win.
Florida is off to its best 24-game start in program history.
The 29-point display by Brooks ties for the second-most points scored in a single game in her career. She also scored 29 points in the team's road win against Alabama last Thursday night, which is just shy of her career high 31 scored against Mississippi State in the team's SEC opener earlier this season. Brooks made 10 free throws in the game and brought down a team-high seven rebounds in 38 minutes of action.
Brooks continued her proficiency in big games, as she is now averaging 22.6 points per game against ranked opponents this season.
Senior forward Marshae Dotson (Columbus, Ohio) scored 10 points – including a perfect 6-for-6 from the free-throw line, collected three steals and became the 10th player in school history to join the 800-rebound club. She finished with six boards and now has 804 for her Gator career. Her final rebound of the night was a huge offensive board with 28 seconds remaining, as she corralled a missed free throw by Brooks and was fouled shortly afterwards, converting both free throws to extend UF's lead to seven points, 64-57.
Sorensen added eight points, including two 3-pointers, in a career-high 38 minutes of action. She also tied former Florida standout and current Auburn assistant coach Kerry Cremeans for third place on the school's all-time list for most consecutive games with a 3-point field goal at 19. Sorensen collected six rebounds in the game, in addition to adding two assists and two steals.
The Gators shot 37.0 percent (20-of-54) from the floor for the game, while the Lady Vols connected on 36.8 percent (25-of-68) of their shots from the field. Florida benefited from 23 points scored off of 19 Tennessee turnovers, as compared to just eight points that the Lady Vols scored off of 11 Gator miscues.
Tennessee took a 29-27 advantage into the locker room at intermission after battling evenly with the Gators for the entire first half. Both teams were similar statistically with the Lady Vols shooting 37.1 percent (13-of-35) from the floor and Florida connecting on 34.4 percent (11-of-32) of its shots from the field. Tennessee held the edge on the boards 25-21.
The two teams battled evenly to begin the game with neither team holding more than a three-point advantage for the first six-plus minutes before back-to-back baskets by Tennessee's Angie Bjorklund – the last of which was a 3-pointer – to put the Lady Vols ahead by four, 14-10, with 13:37 remaining in the opening period. The Gators rallied to knot the score at 14-all following consecutive baskets from Anieka Henry (Coconut Grove, Fla.) and Dotson before Tennessee ran off seven consecutive points to take a 21-14 advantage with 10:04 left until halftime.
From there, Florida held the Lady Vols scoreless for a period of more than five minutes and scored seven consecutive points to tie the score at 21-21. After three more ties, Tennessee entered the locker room with a 29-27 advantage after a tip-in by Kelley Cain with 19 seconds left in the period.
After Florida built a 35-32 advantage out of halftime by using an 8-3 run, Tennessee scored six consecutive points to reclaim the lead at 38-35 with 15:34 remaining in a back-and-forth game, that ultimately featured eight ties and 12 lead changes. Trailing 39-38 after a Dotson lay-up in the paint, the Lady Vols engineered a strong scoring spree that saw them use a 6-0 run to go ahead 44-39 with 12:16 left. They would hold that lead until the Gators' late-game comeback.
Tennessee (17-6, 6-3 SEC) was led by Bjorklund's team-high 16 points, while Cain added a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
“I want to give credit where credit is due,” UT head coach Pat Summitt said. “I think this Florida team really plays well together. They have a veteran group that understands a commitment to defense, to rebounding and to sharing the basketball. I knew it would be a tough challenge for us.”
Florida returns to action on Thursday when it travels to Nashville, Tenn., to take on Vanderbilt. Tip-off in Memorial Gymnasium is slated for 7 p.m. EST and the game will be carried live on Sun Sports and on WRUF-AM850 in Gainesville and through the internet at www.GatorZone.com, the official website of the Florida Gators.
POST-GAME NOTES
- Florida improves to 22-2 overall and 8-1 in the Southeastern Conference, while Tennessee drops to 17-6, 6-3 SEC.
- The Gators are off to their best 24-game start in program history.
- UF's seven consecutive SEC wins set a new school record.
- The Gators are currently sporting a 14-game home winning streak dating back to last season.
- Senior guard Sha Brooks moved into sole possession of second place on Florida's all-time career starts list with 117. She needs eight more to pass Tamara Stocks (1997-01) for sole possession of the career record in that category.
- The 29-point display by Brooks ties for the second-most points scored in a single game in her career. She also scored 29 points in the team's road win against Alabama last Thursday night, which is just shy of her career high 31 scored against Mississippi State in the team's SEC opener earlier this season.
- Brooks continued her proficiency in big games, as she is now averaging 22.6 points per game against ranked opponents.
- Senior forward Marshae Dotson became the 10th player in school history to join the 800-rebound club. She finished with six boards and now has 804 for her Gator career.
- Junior guard Steffi Sorensen tied former Florida standout and current Auburn assistant coach Kerry Cremeans for third place on the school's all-time list for most consecutive games with a 3-point field goal at 19.
- Tennessee's 57 points are its fewest in the 40-game series against Florida.
- The 8,060 fans comprised the second-largest home crowd in UF history.
- Florida shot 37 percent from the floor during the game, only the second time it has hit less than 40 percent this season.
FLORIDA HEAD COACH AMANDA BUTLER
Opening Statement …
“This was a fantastic win. The most important thing is to continue to get SEC wins. I said before the game, 'We don't get a bonus point for beating Tennessee.' That's the truth. At the same time, we have so much respect for a program like that for what they have done. It's a huge, huge confidence builder for our team and it is a great, great day for our program.”
On Florida's late-game comeback and added defensive intensity …
“I really felt like the difference in the ballgame was when we decided we were going to play defense. We were confident that our offense was going to come, but we knew if we were going to have a chance against a team like that, it was going to be about stops. They're too good for us to give individuals like that easy baskets.”
On the second-largest home crowd in school history …
“It's hard for me to not start cheering with the crowd. I get caught up in all that energy. I think we have the best fans – Gator fans are passionate about winning and they want to see their programs become the best.”
On Florida's desire to win …
“When the talent level is equal, it's going to come down to who wants it more. That's what you keep seeing with this team. We know that if the outcome of a ballgame is going to be determined by effort, then we are going to be in good shape.”
Tennessee Head Coach Pat Summitt
Opening Statement…
“I want to give credit where credit is due. I think this Florida team really plays well together. They have a veteran group that understands a commitment to defense, to rebounding and to sharing the basketball. I knew it would be a tough challenge for us.”
On the disparity in free throws …
"I am still trying to figure out how we didn't get to the free-throw line. That to me is kind of a mystery. We were 2-for-8, so when we got there, we weren't very good. They were 20-for-29 so obviously that is a big margin right there and that is one of the differences in the game. We settled for the 3-ball way too much. We were 5-of-22 from there and our guards just really struggled tonight."
On Florida's press …
“I thought for the most part, you had two pretty athletic teams pushing tempo. One of the hardest things to do is to defend in the open court when someone is coming at you full speed. Overall, I thought we did a decent job in the open floor. The hardest thing to defend 1-on-1 dribble drives. That's why we decided to go zone, but they picked us apart, so we had to go back man. They challenged us in a lot of ways on the defensive end.”
On Florida's late-game rally from seven points down …
“I think Florida picked up their defensive intensity at that time and I think offensively we had some bad possessions. We tried to do our own things at times and didn't get the touches in the paint that we needed. I thought that Florida did a great job keeping us out of the paint. The other thing is we didn't get quick ball movement. We weren't in a good rhythm at that time. We were just not as aggressive as we needed to be – particularly with our ball reversal and attacking the paint.”
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