Florida Gators

ATHENS, Ga. – Georgia senior Tiaria Griffin scored a career-high 28 points with 22 coming in the deciding second half and the Lady Bulldogs defeated No. 22/25 Florida, 74-63, at Stegemen Coliseum on Sunday afternoon.
 
Entering the game, Florida led at halftime 11 times and won all 11 of those games.
 
On Sunday, however, Georgia had other plans as it ripped out of the locker room down, 32-27, and scored six straight points as part of a 9-1 run and took a 36-33 lead.
 
Florida came right back with a five straight points from Eleanna Christinaki and the Gators regained the lead, 38-36, with 6:41 left in the period.
 
Again, Georgia responded with nine consecutive points and built a 45-38 advantage. Ronni Williams scored inside and halted the run, but that's when Griffin, the SEC's active career three-point lead, got hot from deep, as she scored all of Georgia's points during a 15-7 run when she knocked down five treys and gave her team a 60-47 lead with 6:32 remaining in the game.
 
The Gators chipped away at their deficit, and January Miller hit two free throws and started a 7-0 spurt and UF trailed by six, 63-56, with 4:28 remaining.
 
With the Gators feeling the momentum, Griffin struck again with another dagger from deep and the difference was back to nine with 4:47 on the clock.
 
Florida continued to fight but never recovered, as Georgia polished off the win with its final seven points from the free throw line and improved to 28-5 all-time against the Gators in Athens, while sweeping the season series, also taking the January 14 meeting in Gainesville.
 
Updated Records:

• Florida 20-7, 8-6 SEC
• Georgia 20-7, 8-6 SEC

 
Numbers of Note

• Ronni Williams was the only Gator scoring in double-figures with 18 points. It was her team-leading 16^th game in double digits this year; 48^th time in her career.
• First time in 12 games this season that Florida lost after leading at halftime.
• Florida was outscored in the third quarter, 24-14, for just the eighth time this season.
• Florida shot 30.6 percent in the second half, while Georgia hit 55.6 percent that included 7-9 from beyond the arc, as the Dawgs outscored the Gators 47-31 in the second half.

 
The Updated Series: Florida vs. Georgia

• 68-Game Series: UF trails 15-53
• UF Home: 10-23; Away: 5-28; Neutral: 0-2
• The 68-game series is the second-longest to any opponent for the Gators, trailing only the 72 games played against instate rival Florida State.
• Georgia has won seven of the last eight games in the series. Florida's lone win during that span was a rare victory in Athens, where the Gators earned the 51-48 decision on Feb. 12, 2015.

 
Recap of Other Early Runs

• Florida used three consecutive threes early in the game – two by Dyandria Anderson and one from Carla Batchelor – and flipped a one-point deficit into a seven-point lead, 11-4.
• Georgia immediately countered with a, 15-4 march and took a 19-15 advantage with 8:22 left in the second quarter.
• The Gators then staged a 13-0 spree over the next 4:20, hitting 6-of-8 from the field for a 28-19 lead with 3:47 left in the second period.
• Florida the most part, the teams traded scores and the Gators took a 32-27 halftime lead.

 
Quotes from the Court – UF Head Coach Amanda Butler
On the difference between the first and second halves:
"There were some momentum shifting and things that happened at the beginning of the half and they took advantage of it. Then we just did a really poor job of our personnel awareness on defense. We didn't do a really good job of talking and playing as a unit on the defensive end … anticipating that (Tiaria) Griffin was going to be shooting the ball if she was open and we didn't."
 
On the breakdowns:
"We were mixing up our man and our zone (defense), which is something we typically do, especially when there is one really, really impressive shooter that we are concerned with. They have very well-rounded players. We felt like in zone we could guard one person but obviously that was a poor decision."
 
On the offensive struggles:
"I didn't think we had very good shot selection. You have to give Georgia a lot of credit. They played tremendous defense and they make you, if you're not really diligent about what you're doing, take compromising shots in really big moments and you can't do that, especially on their home court and especially on senior day."
 
On the final two games being must-win games:
"They are all must-win games. I really don't like that term to describe a game. There isn't a game we go into that we think, 'we'll it's no big deal if we lose this one.' They're all big games. I think this team really responds best when we have a little adversity and when we lose a game, especially in this fashion after leading at halftime – I think we'll see a great response."
 
What's Next for the Gators:

• Florida next plays at LSU on Thursday, February 25.
• Thursday's game will be televised live from Maravich Assembly Center beginning at 8:30 pm. ET.
• It will be the second meeting this season between the Tigers and Gators, who earned the hard-fought 53-45 decision in Gainesville on January 17.
• LSU defeated Tennessee 57-56 in Baton Rouge on Sunday.

 
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