Junior forward
Naomi Mobley (Jacksonville, Fla./Ed White) scored 18 points and pulled down 15 rebounds to lead the ninth-ranked Florida Lady Gators (19-2, 7-1 SEC) to a 62-57 come from behind victory over the 19th-ranked Vanderbilt Commodores (15-6, 4-4 SEC) at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center Sunday afternoon.
The Lady Gators improve to 10-0 at home this season and have won 16 straight at home overall dating back to last season.
"It was an outstanding win," Florida head coach Carol Ross said. "Our players showed a lot of toughness. This game shows how our players prepared themselves after a big win against Georgia. They just continue to prepare."
Florida grabbed an early six point lead at 13-7 with 14:28 to go in the first half, but the Commodores came back with a 12-0 run to give themselves a six point advantage at 19-13 at the 8:27 mark in the opening period. The Lady Gators fought back to tie the game at 21-21 on a layup by senior guard
Tombi Bell (Miami/Miami Norland) with 6:00 remaining in the half, but Vanderbilt ended the half by outscoring the Lady Gators 10-5 for a 31-26 lead. It was only the second time Florida trailed at the half this season.
Florida fought back in the second half to take the lead at 41-40 with 12:30 left in the game. The lead went back and forth until the Lady Gators went on top for good at 45-44 on a pair of free throws by junior guard
Brandi McCain (Silsbee, Tex./Silsbee) after a foul was called on Vanderbilt's Jillian Danker at the 10:17 mark in the game. The Lady Gators led by as much as six points the rest of the way as they held on for the 62-57 win.
"We did a good job defending," Vanderbilt head coach Jim Foster said. "The players we wanted to take the shots, took the shots."
For Florida, Mobley was followed by Bell with 17 points and McCain with 16 points and four assists in the winning effort. The Lady Gators shot a season-low 32.9 percent and were out-rebounded 46-39.
Vanderbilt was led by Jenni Benningfield with 17 points and 12 rebounds. Chantelle Anderson scored 13 and Zuzi Klimesova added 11 for the Commodores, who shot 41.7 percent from the floor.
Florida will be back in action on Thursday, Feb. 8, when it travels to Fayetteville, Ark. to take on the Arkansas Lady Razorbacks. Tip off for the game is set for 8 p.m. Eastern Time.
