Florida out rebounded LSU by 27 but it wasn’t enough as the Gators dropped a 78-67 decision to the Lady Tigers at the Maravich Center Thursday evening.
Florida hit just 38.5 percent of its shots during the game – its second-lowest mark of the season and that effort diffused the Gator’s 27 offensive rebounds and second-chance opportunities, collecting only 18 points in that fashion.
Turnovers also hampered the Gator’s effort, as LSU flipped 28 miscues into 36 points.
The Gators were able to whittle a 15-point deficit down to six points with five minutes remaining thanks to a 9-0 run midway through the fourth quarter when Ronni Williams, Brooke Copeland, Delicia Washington and Haley Lorenzen each hit field goals.
LSU came right back with three-point-play that sparked a 9-2 run and the Gators were unable to counter.
Gators in Double-Digits
- Ronni Williams finished with a team-high 22 points along with 10 rebounds for her fifth double-double of the season and the 18th of her career.
- Haley Lorenzen logged the second double-double of the season and her career with 18 points and a career-high 12 rebounds
- Tyshara Fleming finished with a career-high 13 rebounds, her second career double-figure rebound game
Lady Tigers in Double-Digits
- Chloe Jackson: game-high 34 points
- Raigyne Moncrief: 20 points
- Moncrief: 10 steals – the most by a Gator opponent in program history (had been 9 by three different players, most recently by Louisville’s Angel McCoughtry, Dec. 2, 2007)
- J. Harris-Richard: 12 points
Individual Numbers of Note
- Williams’ nine rebounds included the 700th of her career
- Anderson finished with four points and topped the 300-point plateau in her career
- Brooke Copeland converted a three-pointer in the eighth consecutive game
- In the last five games, Williams is averaging 25.4 points and 8.4 rebounds per game while hitting 68 percent of her shots.
- Fleming is averaging a team-leading 9.4 rebounds over the last five games.
Numbers of Note
- Florida outrebounded LSU, 51-24, for a season-high margin of +27 (had been +20 twice)
- In the third quarter, the Gators missed their first 14 shots from the floor before Fleming put back an offensive rebound with 4:23 remaining and made a free throw to complete the three-point-play.
- Florida made just 2-of-19 field goals in the third quarter, while LSU hit 8-of-14
- UF committed 10 turnovers in the first quarter that LSU converted into 11 points. Tigers led 17-12 after first quarter.
Updated Records
- Florida: 9-6, 0-2 SEC
LSU: 12-3, 1-1 SEC
The Updated Series: Florida vs. LSU
- 40-Game Series: UF trails 14-27 (UF Home: 8-12; Away: 5-14; Neutral: 1-1)
Quotes from the Court – UF Head Coach Amanda Butler
“We just turned the ball over too much. Again, it’s really disappointing because it seems like it’s silly turnovers, just ball reversal when someone’s in the passing lane and we don’t seem to see them. I guess we just have to watch more film on that. We had a valiant effort on the boards – 27 on the offensive end is tremendous, but we don’t have the points off of those second chances. We had 18 points. When you have 27 offensive rebounds, you have to capitalize more often.â€
“They did exactly what we prepared for them to do – they shot mid-range jump shots and they tried to create offense off of their steals. Moncrief had 10 (steals) and we seemed not to do a very good job when she was in the passing lane and threw it to her a lot. I thought we made it easy on them. They are great players, though. You have to give them a lot of credit for their effort.â€
Scores of Other SEC Games Played Thursday
- No. 5 South Carolina def. AUBURN, 73-47
- GEORGIA def. Texas A&M, 69-59
- No. 24 KENTUCKY def. Missouri, 64-62
- ALABAMA def. Ole Miss, 90-80
- No. 4 Mississippi State def. ARKANSAS, 59-51
- Tennessee at VANDERBILT – late start
What’s Next for the Gators
- Who: Florida (9-6, 0-2 SEC) hosts No. 5 South Carolina (12-1, 2-0 SEC)
- Where: Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center * Gainesville, Fla.
- When: Sunday, January 8 * 12 Noon
- TV: ESPNU with Tiffany Green and Rebecca Lobo
Gator Pronunciations for this Release:
- TYSHARA Fleming: tie-SHEER-uh
- DELICIA Washington: duh-LEE-shuh
FOLLOW THE GATORS
SOCIAL: Twitter | Facebook | YouTube | Instagram
JOIN THE CONVERSATION: #GoGators