Senior Brittany Davis recorded career-highs of 23 points and 16 rebounds leading the University of Florida women's basketball team to a 93-80 victory over Charlotte (2-3) in front of a crowd of 3,693 at Halton Arena. The Gators (4-1) rallied from a 16-point second-half deficit to stage a tie for the third-largest comeback in program history.
“I'm proud of how we fought back, there was never a point when we thought we were out of the game,” UF head coach Carolyn Peck said. “We had such great contributions from so many different players. Marshae Dotson played strong in the second half. Depree Bowden was focused and got herself to the free throw line and that was key.”
Charlotte ripped out of the halftime locker room as Whitney Hoey canned a 3-pointer seconds into the period and sparked an 18-4 run to balloon a one-point lead to a 64-48 advantage with just under five minutes into the half. The 49ers dominated the boards during the run, 7-2, that included five on the offensive end which resulted in short put-backs. The Gators also committed five turnovers during that spell.
Florida regrouped and served up a 22-5 run during the next six-plus minutes to erase the deficit and take a 71-69 lead after Sha Brooks' three-pointer with 6:12 remaining. Depree Bowden came up with back-to-back steals at the end of that run that resulted in consecutive buckets for UF, one by Bowden herself and the other by Marshae Dotson, who powered back three straight offensive rebounds and finally got one to fall to get the Gators within one.
A three-point play by Sakellie Daniels swung the lead back to the 49ers, 72-71, and the teams traded leads for the next minute. With Charlotte holding a 76-75 advantage with 4:10 remaining, Brooks and Dalila Eshe sparked an 18-4 spree the rest of the way as the Gators played composed, hit their free throws and took control of the game en route to the 13-point lead.
In the final 3:29 of the game, Florida hit 8-of-8 from the free throw line and outrebounded Charlotte 6-2 while keeping the 49ers without a field goal during the final game-ending run.
“Charlotte has been the first team in transition that was able to pull us out of our press,” Peck said. “They were getting transition baskets. We did a good job in our man-to-man defense of talking and helping each other. We buckled down defensively and got the job done.”
Eshe and Brooks both scored 18 points for the Gators, who shot 47.9 percent from the floor and 20-of-25 from the free throw line in the victory. Eshe, who scored eight of her points in the final two and half minutes of the game, also collected six rebounds and dished four assists. Sarah Lowe tallied nine points, while Danielle Santos recorded eight points with five assists and a pair of steals in the win.
The 49ers came out sizzling, hitting four of their first five shots to take a 10-5 lead in the first three minutes of the game. During that early stretch, the Gators hit 2-of-6 and committed four turnovers, but forced five Charlotte miscues as the pace was full court and frantic.
Florida came alive shortly afterwards, using a 15-4 run while shooting 6-of-10 from the floor over the next five and half minutes to take a 20-14 lead. Sha Brooks started the spree and scored five points during the run, while Brittany Davis scored six and Dalila Esha and Danielle Santos each netted outside shots.
The Gators extended their early lead to nine points, 27-18, after an offensive put-back by Davis, but the personal fouls also started to mount and Charlotte took advantage at the free throw line, hitting the next three points of the game from the stripe. Pam Brown's driving layup cut UF's deficit to four, but Kim Dye sank a 3-pointer from the left corner and upped the lead to 30-23 with 7:30 remaining in the half. That trey was UF's lone points during the 49ers' 9-3 run, as the hosts clawed back to within three, 32-29, with 5:30 on the clock.
Davis, who contributed 17 points and eight rebounds in the first half, scored the next five points, including her second 3-pointer of the season, to build the lead to eight, 37-29, with 4:22 remaining. That's when Charlotte staged a 12-3 run during the next three minutes to take a 41-40 lead with 1:27 left in the period. The teams then traded baskets for the rest of the way, with Sabrina Gregory hitting a six-footer at the buzzer to give the 49ers a 45-44 halftime lead.
The teams shot nearly identical percentages from the floor during the first half, with Florida hitting 17 field goals including four 3-pointers compared with 15 field goals and three treys for Charlotte. The 49ers made up the difference at the free throw line, hitting 12-of-16 opposed to 6-of-9 for the Gators, who were whistled for 15 fouls in the opening 20 minutes.
The Gators conclude the travel heavy portion of their season-opening slate on Saturday, when Florida ventures to Philadelphia to play 18th-ranked Temple (6-0) in The Liacouras Center at 7 p.m. The radio broadcast of that game can be heard live in Gainesville on WRUF-AM850 and thru the internet at www.GatorZone.com.
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