GAINESVILLE, Fla. – In what was shaping up to be a similar double-digit comeback as the first meeting this season between the two Southeastern Conference rivals, Florida wasn't able to complete the comeback and dropped a 52-45 decision to Georgia in the Stephen C. O'Connell Center Sunday evening in the regular-season finale for both teams.
During the February 12 matchup, the Gators rallied from a 14-point deficit with 15:09 remaining and posted a 51-48 victory in Athens.
On Sunday, trailing 37-25 five minutes into the second, redshirt senior Kayla Lewis, playing in her final regular-season contest, ignited the Gators, hitting a mid-range jumper to kick-start an 18-4 run that spanned seven minutes and 48 seconds.
In the midst of the run, Georgia led, 41-40, with 6:21 left in regulation when redshirt junior Carlie Needles stole the Georgia inbounds pass and then dished the ball to a cutting Ronni Williams, who converted a layup while drawing a foul. The sophomore converted the and-one opportunity to make the score 43-41 and give the Gators their first lead since the 12:08 mark of the first.
Georgia quickly responded hitting back-to-back treys to turn the momentum of the game and key a game-deciding 8-0 run.
In the first half, the Gators led 9-8 through the first seven minutes of play before their offense went cold and scored just nine points over the final 13 minutes of the half. As a team, the Gators shot 6-of-27 (22.2%) from the field in the first stanza and made just one field goal over the final nine minutes and 28 seconds of action.
The Gators entered halftime trailing Georgia, 28-19, but the nine-point deficit could have been much higher had Florida's defense not forced seven turnovers and held the Bulldogs to 9-of-30 (30.0%) shooting from the field.
Peoples finished with a team-high 13 points, seven of which came during Florida's second-half run. The guard added five assists, three steals and three rebounds. Freshman Brooke Copeland finished the game with a career-high eight rebounds and added six points.
Updated Records: Florida: 13-16, 5-11 SEC … Georgia: 18-11, 6-10 SEC
Turning Point:
· With Florida leading, 43-41, Georgia's Mackenzie Engram and Tiaria Griffin nailed back-to-back three-pointers to key a game-deciding 8-0 run and give the Bulldogs a four-point advantage with 4:29 left in the game.
Series Update:
· Following tonight's loss, the Gators dropped their all-time record to 15-51 against Georgia,
· The loss tied the season series at 1-1; UF defeated Georgia, 51-48, Feb. 12 in Athens.
Numbers of Note:
· Redshirt senior Kayla Lewis netted six points and now has 1,044 career points, surpassing Talatha Bingham for sole possession of 21st in program history
· Florida's defense limited Georgia to 28.8% shooting from the field (17-of-59), the lowest any Gator opponent has shot this season
· UF held the scoring advantage in the paint, outscoring UGA, 18-14, down low
· Florida outscored Georgia, 26-24, in the second half
· Georgia held a 45-38 rebounding advantage that included 15 offensive boards
Individuals:
· Playing in her final regular-season game as a Gator, Lewis finished with six points and three rebounds
· Peoples led the team in scoring for a team-best 10th time this season and 13th time in her career
· Peoples, who is third in the SEC in assists per game (4.6), tallied five dimes
· Copeland had a career-high eight rebounds
· Needles, who entered today averaging the eighth-most three-pointers per game (1.7) in the SEC, nailed two treys
Double-Figures:
· Peoples scored 13 points, her 14th game this season in double-figures and the 31st of her career
Streaks:
· January Miller's streak of 10-consecutive made free throws came to an end in the first half
· Peoples continued her team-best 38-game consecutive scoring streak tonight
For Starters:
· Kayla Lewis- made her 90th career start and 62nd consecutive
· Carlie Needles- recorded her 60th career start
· Haley Lorenzen- appeared in the starting lineup for the 20th time in her career
· Brooke Copeland- made her 14th career start and 13th in a row
· Cassie Peoples - notched her 48th career start
· This is the fourth time Florida has used this starting lineup this season and is now 0-3
· Second-half starters: Lewis, Needles, Peoples, Copeland, Lorenzen
Quotes from the Court:
Florida Head Coach Amanda Butler
Opening Statement:
“Obviously we're terribly disappointed with the outcome. You've got to give Georgia a lot of credit for what they've experienced in the past couple weeks and coming in and playing with great fight and great consistency. It's really hard to put your finger on one thing. It seemed like we had a really tough time finishing, but ultimately I felt like we could've overcome that if we had rebounded the ball better. We played a lot more zone than maybe we had wanted to in certain segments and couldn't give them second chances. It didn't feel like they were scoring as much on the first chances, but the second chances, they were making us pay. At this point, it's history, and we've got to turn the page and we've got to go with the best versions of ourselves, which we did not bring tonight, to Little Rock (site of the SEC Tournament) and try to do something special.”
On redshirt senior Kayla Lewis, who was honored after the game:
“She's just a special woman, and it's been a privilege to be part of her journey and I hope to be part of her journey going forward as well. She really has a heart for people, and really understands the significance in the role that she plays on our team as a spiritual leader, as someone that people look up to. She wants to be that example; she wants to be that person that everybody knows they can turn to, and I think that's very, very unique. You don't find that very often, and then when you put it in a shell that she has that's athletic and beautiful and all the other attributes that Kayla possesses, I think it's an awesome combination. I'm just glad she's part of this family.”
Redshirt senior forward Kayla Lewis
On the five years she's spent at Florida:
“It's meant a lot. I think that over the last five years, I've grown tremendously from the individual that I was when I came in -- the lessons that you learn from your freshman year through your senior year, the growth, the experiences, the places that you get to visit, the relationships that you get to build which will transcend sport. I met my best friend, I met my future husband through a ministry that I started here at UF, and so everything that is pushing me forward to the next transition in life I found out here.”
On the win-or-go-home format at the SEC Tournament:
“I think when you play one game at a time, and that's the only guaranteed game you have, you have to play it and leave everything out there, that you gave everything, that you gave every ounce of energy, enthusiasm, words of encouragement that you have. I don't want to walk off the court, whether it's a win or a loss, knowing that I have more to give. I want to give everything I have.”
Georgia Head Coach Andy Landers
Opening Statement:
“It's good to win again. It seems like forever, so it was a heck of a win and a really gutsy performance, I think, by our entire team. We didn't make a lot of mistakes today -- 12 turnovers; that's terrific, I just saw that. We didn't make a lot of mistakes, we were reasonably good at the free throw line and we rebounded well. When you do those things in this conference and you do it over a 40-minute period, you're going to be in a position to win a game. Different kids stepped up offensively throughout the game and made big shots and big plays that allowed us to do that.”
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