Florida Gators

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Missouri hit 53.1 percent of its shots from the floor, including an 8-of-15 effort from the three-point arc and defeated Florida, 79-64, Sunday afternoon at Mizzou Arena.
 
The teams were tied at halftime and the usually potent second-half offense by the 22nd-ranked Gators sputtered and was outscored, 41-26, by the Tigers, who have won all five meetings in the short series.
 
The 23rd-ranked Tigers jumped out to a quick 9-2 lead and held the lead until a pair of Carlie Needles free throws with 2:28 left in the opening quarter capped a 9-2 run and gave Florida a 16-15 edge.
 
The Tigers came right back with the a 6-2 run and reclaimed a three-point cushion, before Tyshara Fleming completed a three-point-play and tied the game at 21 where it remained as the opening quarter came to a close.
 
There were five tied scores in the second quarter, including at the halftime horn when both teams went into the locker room tied at 38.
 
Thanks to a pair of three-pointers from Juantia Robinson, the Tigers flipped a three-point Gator lead into a five-point advantage for the hosts with 2:56 to play.
 
The Gators stormed back and finished the half scoring the final five points, as Fleming hit one free throw, missed the second, but January Miller was there to collect the miss and put it back. Ronni Williams then capped the scoring with a driving bucket inside.
 
The third quarter began as Florida was whistled for six personal fouls before it even scored a point, which came on a three-pointer from Carlie Needles and her bucket gave the Gators a 41-40 lead with 6:23 remaining.
 
Foul trouble continued to mount and the Tigers took advantage by making 9-of-11 free throws and continued to hold the Gators without a fast break point.
 
When Florida began the fourth quarter, it found itself trailing by 10 points and five different players had at least three fouls, with leading scorer, Williams, had been whistled for four.
 
The traded scores to begin the fourth and with the Tigers holding a 66-54 lead, the Gators staged one final rally and scored six consecutive points and were within six, 66-60 with 5:14 remaining in the game.
 
The teams again exchanged scores and Florida turned to its defense instead of fouling in the final two minutes, but MU worked the clock and Morgan Stock nailed a three-point dagger as the shot clock expired that lifted the difference to 11 points, 73-62, with 1:34 on the clock.
 
The Gators then were forced to foul three more times just to get to five for the quarter and have a chance to get the ball back, but also send the Tigers to the free throw line.
 
Florida had trouble on the offensive end in the final minute and couldn't even get a clean shot off, as the Tigers were steady from the free throw line and sealed the win.
 
 
Quotes form the Court – UF Head Coach Amanda Butler
General thoughts on the game
"I think we got beat by a good team and a great SEC team in front of a fantastic SEC crowd. They defended their home court really well and we have to give them a lot of credit for how they played."
 
On the defensive struggles this afternoon…
"I think we didn't communicate good enough. For us and for what we want to do offensively, we have to play great defense. We didn't do that in the third quarter and we didn't get offensive rebounds. We just had some critical errors at critical junctions. Your margin for error against a great team on their home floor is really, really tiny and ours was too great tonight to overcome."
 
On the amount of fouls in the game tonight…
"I think they are very similar to us. They have a lot of confidence in a lot of different people on their bench. They have kids that can play and we have kids that can play. Who starts the ball game is not always who the best five is. It is that they can get you out of the gates and that is what we are always looking at is who is going to be the best five starting things off well. That is something that we are going to continue to look at. You have to give them a lot of credit for the way their individuals played, whether they were on the bench or starters, they all contributed. We didn't do a very good job of personnel awareness in some situations, but again, like we always say, it is an SEC game. It is tough but we have to get ready for the next one."
 
 
First Half at a Glance

• Tied at the end of the second quarter, as both teams scored 17 in the second frame and went into the locker room tied at 38
• Fourth time this season UF was tied at halftime; UF now 3-1 in those games
• The Gators scored 20 points off of 17 Mizzou turnovers
• UF did not have a fast break point in the first half
• MU shot a 55.6 percent in the first half, the best by a UF opponent in the first half this year

 
First Quarter at a Glance

• Tied at the end of the first quarter, 21-21
• MU led by as many as seven, 9-2, with 7:37 remaining in period
• Gators led by as many as two, 18-16, with 1:43 left in quarter
• UF shot 45.5 percent from the floor (5-11) and 10-15 from the free throw line
• MU committed 11 turnovers that UF converted into 10 points
• MU held the 11-6 rebounding advantage and shot 57.1 percent from the floor

 
Numbers of Note

• With 14 points this afternoon, Ronni Williams recorded her 12th double-figure scoring game this year and 44th of her career.
• Haley Lorenzen scored in her team-leading 48th consecutive game; she is the only Gator to have scored in every game this year
• Carlie Needles scored 12 points for her sixth double-figure scoring game this year and 32nd of her career
• Missouri shot 53.1 percent (26-49) from the floor, the highest by a Gator opponent this season

 
Gator Starting Lineup

• Williams, Fleming, Needles, Peoples, Westbrook
• Seventh different starting lineup this year – fourth different one in SEC games
• Needles started 80th game of career

 
What's Next for the Gators

• Who: Florida at Arkansas
• Where: Bud Walton Arena * Fayetteville, Ark.
• When: Thursday, January 27 * 8 p.m. ET (7 p.m. CT)

 
 
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