LSU senior guard Allison Hightower scored a game-high 19 points and the Lady Tigers held Florida to just 19.6 percent shooting in a 70-30 win on Thursday in the Stephen C. O'Connell Center.
The Gators (13-11, 6-5 Southeastern Conference), who had won three of their previous four games heading into Thursday's contest, connected on just 11-of-56 shots from the floor and made only 1-of-19 (5.3 percent) from the 3-point arc.
Senior guard Steffi Sorensen (Jacksonville, Fla.) scored a team-high nine points to lead the Gators, while freshman center Jennifer George (Orlando, Fla.) added six. She also brought down a team-high six rebounds.
LSU shot 46.7 percent (28-of-60) from the field in the game, while connecting on 53.8 percent (7-of-13) from long range. The Lady Tigers out-rebounded the Gators 43-35.
“We were just outplayed in every facet tonight,” Florida head coach Amanda Butler said. “They came in here and set the tone early and we weren't aggressive enough. I think there was a combination of let downs tonight and LSU was able to capitalize.”
LSU took a 34-13 advantage into the locker room at intermission after shooting 45.2 percent (14-of-31) from the floor in the opening period and holding the Gators to just 19.2 percent (5-of-26) shooting from the floor in the opening period. Florida was 0-of-11 from 3-point range in the first half and went nearly eight-and-a-half minutes near the end of the period without a basket.
LSU raced out to an early 12-2 advantage at the 14:50 mark thanks in part to 10 points by Hightower and a 1-for-8 start from the field by the Gators. The Lady Tigers widened their advantage to 19-5 after a pair of Hightower baskets and a 3-pointer by Adrienne Webb.
From there, Florida ran off six consecutive points, including four by George, to whittle its deficit down to eight, 19-11, and force LSU head coach Van Chancellor to burn a timeout with 10:05 remaining until halftime. The Lady Tigers closed the half on a 15-2 run to take a 34-13 advantage into the locker room at intermission.
LSU opened the second half on a 16-2 run to extend its lead to 50-15, holding the Gators without a field goal for the first 5:26 of the final period. The Lady Tigers pushed their advantage out to 60-17 following a 10-0 run that ended at the 11:42 mark. From there, Florida used a 9-2 run to cut its deficit down to 62-26 with 6:06 left on the clock. The Gators would get no closer the rest of the way.
LSU (16-7, 5-6 SEC) placed four players in double-figure scoring, paced by Hightower's 19. Webb added 13, while LaSondra Barrett and Courtney Jones added 11 apiece.
Florida returns to action on Sunday when it travels to Knoxville, Tenn., to face No. 5 Tennessee. Tip-off is slated for 2 p.m. ET and the game will be carried live on WBXY-FM (The Star 99.5 FM in Gainesville) and on the SEC Network (WOGX-FOX in Gainesville/Ocala, channel 13 on Cox cable).
POST-GAME NOTES
? Florida used the starting line-up of Jennifer Mossor, Sharielle Smith, Steffi Sorensen, Azania Stewart and Lonnika Thompson for the first time this season.
? LSU now holds a 23-9 series lead against Florida, having won four consecutive against the Gators.
? Florida extended its streak of consecutive games with at least one 3-pointer to 82 with a trey from the wing by Susan Yenser with 10:48 remaining in the second half. Florida had made at least four treys in every game this year prior to tonight's 1-of-19 effort.
? The 14 points scored by the Gators in the first half are their second-fewest in a conference game in school history.
? The Gators set an all-time low of fewest points in an SEC game with their 30 tonight, the former low being 34 against LSU, February 22, 1986.
? Senior guard Sharielle Smith's scoring streak of 93 straight games came to an end; the last time she was held scoreless was February 8, 2007 against LSU in Baton Rouge.
? Sophomore Jordan Jones' streak of 23 straight games converting a trey, which is the second longest in UF history, ended Thursday, as did her overall 33-game streak dating back to her freshman season at South Carolina.
POST-GAME QUOTES
FLORIDA HEAD COACH AMANDA BUTLER
“LSU is a very good team – they're very talented and very well coached. They were much more ready to play tonight than we were. The score showed it, the way things felt showed it and you just have to give them all the credit for setting the tone, maintaining the tone and finishing the game strong.”
On Florida's toughness vs. LSU …
“It's no secret that's the X factor for us – the thing that allows us to compete with teams that are maybe a little bit bigger than us or maybe a little bit more talented than us is our toughness. The thing escaping me right now is what that wasn't here tonight.”
On the Gators shooting 19.6 percent from the floor in the game …
“I think our shooting was a by-product of their defensive intensity. Everything that happened was us reacting to them. We just played reactive and they set the tone. They dictated and we were on our heels from the get-go.”
On Sunday's game with No. 5 Tennessee in Knoxville …
“That's the great thing and most challenging thing about our league – every night we are playing against the best. We've just got to bounce back; there's no two ways about it. The reality is that we have to go to Knoxville on Sunday. We have a quick turnaround both mentally and physically.”
#10 STEFFI SORENSEN, Sr., G
“The bottom line is that we didn't come out with the intensity, fire and fight that defines our team. We didn't get off to a good start, they [LSU] kept building the lead and we never responded. We never fought like Florida is supposed to fight.”
LSU HEAD COACH VAN CHANCELLOR
“I don't know of any team that needed a win worse than LSU needed this one. We've lost three games in overtime this year. I have been so impressed with what Amanda [Butler] has done with this team. They were 6-4 and third in this league, and have beat Mississippi State twice. They play so hard and she has done a great job of coaching them. I'm just pleased with this win. I never thought this would be the score; I thought it would be a dog-fight.”
#23 ALLISON HIGHTOWER, SR., G
“We just felt like we haven't played our best basketball lately. We still have time to turn it around and it starts today. We just wanted to come out with a lot of energy and enthusiasm. We wanted to get all the loose balls and all the rebounds. It's the little things that have been killing us.”
-UF-
