Senior Tamia Williams' career-high 23 points led all players en route to the UF women's basketball team's 77-58 win versus Temple in the Stephen C. O'Connell Center on Saturday afternoon.
Thanks to Williams and fellow senior, Tishona Gregory, the Gators (3-2) tied a school record for most three-point field goals made with 11. The duo combined to go 10-of-14 from the three-point arc, with freshman Depree Bowden adding the other three-point shot.
Williams was UF's spark plug the entire day, scoring 10 points on a momentum-changing 15-4 run in the first half to give the Gators a commanding 30-12 lead with little more than six minutes remaining in the half. The senior, who in four games had not made a three-pointer, went 6-of-7 from beyond the three-point arc while tallying three rebounds, one assist and a steal.
"One goal for today's game was to get field-goal percentage up, especially during the first half," UF head coach Carolyn Peck said. "The difference was also with the unselfish play – [almost] every person had an assist by the end of the first half."
UF ended the day with 19 assists while shooting 45.6 percent (26-57) from the floor during the game, including a blistering 51.6 percent during the decisive first half when the Gators canned 8-of-14 from the arc.
Gregory had the hot hand early in the first half, scoring 11 of UF's first 13 points in little more than five minutes, with nine of those points coming on 3-of-4 three-point shooting. It was her three-point shot that tied the school record and put the finishing touch on her season-high 17-point day.
UF was able to catch onto Gregory's shooting touch to shoot 52 percent in the first half, a significant improvement from its previous four games in which it struggled to find a rhythm during the first half.
Temple (3-3) was led by Tampa, Fla., native Candice Dupree who scored 18 points on 8-of-12 shooting from the field while grabbing a game-high 11 rebounds. Ari Moore chipped in 10 points with a game-high six assists for the Owls, who held a 41-35 rebounding edge.
The Gators combined their offense with a fierce defensive assault, pressuring Temple all day in its back court while disrupting its half-court offense. In the first half, Temple committed 13 turnovers to UF's five while shooting 33 percent, all of which led to a 44-21 UF halftime lead.
"We had a lot of energy on the defensive side and that transfers to the offense," Peck said.
For the game, UF converted 28 points off of Temple's 20 turnovers.
Junior Sarah Lowe led the defensive effort with four steals while also leading the team with five assists on the offensive side. The Gators capitalized on their free throws going 14-of-18 from the stripe, including a 5-of-6 night from junior Brittany Davis who had nine points and a team-high five rebounds.
UF's bench, led by Williams, outscored Temple's 44-12. Sophomore Briana Phillips was able to put in eight points off the bench on 4-of-5 shooting and added three rebounds in 17 minutes of play.
But the star of the game was Williams, who after sparking the Gators during the first half, came into the second half with about 16:30 remaining to start a 13-4 UF run after both teams had scored six points. In one sequence, Williams had her shot blocked from the perimeter, recovered it, and scored while driving to the basket and getting fouled. She hit the free throw to cap the three-point play.
UF continues its hectic stretch on Monday, when the team plays host to Delaware State (1-2) beginning at 7 p.m.
END OF REPORT
