STARKVILLE Miss. – Florida jumped out to a strong start and held early leads until No. 13/15 Mississippi State began to heat up midway through the first half and earned a 75-62 decision over the Gators at Humphrey Coliseum on Sunday afternoon.
Gator junior January Miller tied her season-high of 16 points that included the 700th of her career, while sophomore Ronni Williams scored 11 points and finished with the 500th of her career. Freshman Brooke Copeland also netted 11 points to log the fourth double-figure scoring game of her career.
Florida scored the first eight points of the game and held a seven-point advantage as late as the 11:42 mark of the opening half, before the Bulldogs closed the frame on a 31-13 run and took a 40-30 halftime advantage.
MSU began the second half with the first four points before senior Kayla Lewis canned a pair of free throws and Miller added another bucket with 16:52 remaining for her 700-point milestone point and more importantly drew the Gators back within 10 points, 44-34.
The team continued to exchange baskets and scored for the remainder of the game, as Florida was unable to mount a final charge.
MSU was led by Breanna Richardson (16 points), Martha Alwal (14) and Victoria Vivians (10). Alwal also collected a game-high 13 rebounds and helped the hosts to a 37-28 rebounding advantage for the game, including a 17-10 second-half cushion.
The game capped a three-game run against ranked opponents for Florida, which dropped an eight-point decision to No. 6 Tennessee and defeated No. 24 Georgia in Athens, 51-48.
Updated Records: Florida 12-13, 4-8 SEC … #13/15 Mississippi St. 24-4, 9-4
Florida vs. Mississippi State: The Updated Series at a Glance
· 44-Game Series: UF leads 25-19
· UF Home: 13-6; Away: 8-12; Neutral: 4-1
· The Gators had won the last nine games against the Bulldogs.
· Prior to tonight's game, six of the last eight games have been decided by 10 points or less.
· The last meeting between the two teams was a 71-67 Gator thriller in the second round of the SEC Tournament.
Quotes from the Court – UF Head Coach Amanda Butler:
Opening remarks on the game:
“I have to congratulate Mississippi State for the way they played, in particular after our strong start. They did the things that have put them in the position that they are in right now in the league and in the country. We didn't play with enough consistent fight throughout the ballgame. We didn't make the battle the way it needed to look to give us a chance to win today.
“We did a great job initially in the first half of setting the tone. We attacked their pressure with our pressure. We just weren't able to sustain that.”
On what changed from the opening several minutes:
“We just didn't play tough enough, whether it be giving up a big offensive rebound, not finishing in the paint because I thought we had a lot of opportunity in the paint tonight. We didn't necessarily follow the things defensively that we wanted to do as consistently as we needed to do against a team of this caliber.”
What MSU did after Florida's strong start:
“They did a better job of rebounding and a better job of recovering in transition defense. We were able to steal a few points in the open court and attack their press off of our defensive rebounds and they did a good job of adjusting to that. Our attack went down a notch, unfortunately. We had way too many turnovers.”
First Half at a Glance:
· Mississippi State led, 40-30
· Carlie Needles found Kayla Lewis under the basket and Lewis dropped in a floater as time expired as the final horn sounded.
· The teams were nearly even in field goals, the different from the three-point arc and the free throw line, where MSU hit 6-12 from deep and 8-11 from the line and the Gators were 2-6 from deep and did not attempt a free throw.
· With the Gators leading 17-9, Mississippi State outscored UF, 31-13, in the final 11:10 of the half.
· Florida scored the first eight points of the game.
· Five different Gators combined to score the first 12 points.
Individual Highs
· January Miller tied her season-high of 16 points; it was the fifth time this year she has led the Gators in scoring
· Ronni Williams dished a season-high four assists; one shy of her career high five (at Ole Miss, Feb. 2, 2014)
· Williams collected a career-best four steals
· Cassie Peoples tied her career-high of eight assists (also 8 at Kennesaw State, Nov. 17, 2013)
Biggest Stat Differential vs. Ranked Teams Continues
· Free Throws: entering the game, the Gators had ATTEMPTED 26 free throws (23-36, 63.9%) in FOUR games against ranked teams ... while opponents have MADE 47 free throw attempts (47-75, 62.7%)
· Today: Gators attempted 15 free throws (13-of-15) … MSU was 16-22
· Gators did not attempt their first free throw until 17:33 remaining in the game
Miller Time:
· January Miller finished with a team-high 16 points, tying her season-best effort.
· She sank a 3-pointer for the first time since Jan. 25 vs. Arkansas
· She had attempted just one three-pointer since that game
· This was just her fifth 3-pointer in an SEC games this year
· Completed a three-point-play during the game and is now 2-6 in three-point-play free throws this year, 17-30 in her career
Streaks and Stuff:
· Gators wore their black uniforms for the fourth time this season (with pink accents for the national Play4Kay initiative)
· January Miller's three-pointer at the 11:42 mark of the first half extended UF's streak with a three-pointer to 155 games
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By the Numbers
· January Miller scored her 700th career point
· Freshman Brooke Copeland scored her 125th career point
· Ronni Williams scored her 500th career point
· Williams collected her 300th career rebound
· Carlie Needles dished her 150th career assist
· Cassie Peoples dished her 225th career assist and her 100th this season
· Ronni Williams dished her 50th career assist
Florida vs. Ranked Teams
· The Gators fell to 1-4 vs. ranked teams this season.
· Seven of UF's final 12 regular-season games are against teams currently ranked in the top-25
Start Me Up:
· Starters for today: Williams, Needles, Peoples, Lewis, Copeland
· Third straight game with this starting lineup
· Lewis is starting 58th straight game
· Copeland made ninth straight start
Next Gator Game:
· Who: Vanderbilt at Florida
· When: Thursday, February 19 * 7 p.m. ET
· Where: Stephen C. O'Connell Center * Gainesville, Florida
· TV: SEC Network with Paul Sunderland and Carolyn Peck
· Special Promotions: $1 Thursday's = general admission tickets and select concession items are $1; Wear PINK and receive FREE admission to the game; first 500 fans receive a FREE Pink Florida Basketball tote bag
Scores of Other SEC Games:
· #1/2 SOUTH CAROLINA d. Vanderbilt, 89-59
· Arkansas d. AUBURN, 54-36
· MISSOURI d. Ole Miss, 72-58
· #6 TENNESSEE d. #10 Kentucky, 72-58
For all of the latest information on Florida women's basketball:
Official Website: www.gatorzone.com/basketball/women
Facebook: www.facebook.com/FloridaWomensBasketball
Twitter: @GatorZoneWBK and @CoachButlerUF
Instagram: GatorzoneWBK
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