Junior Depree Bowden (Palmetto, Fla.) scored a game-high 20 points, leading four Gators in double-figures, but the University of Florida women's basketball team came up short Thursday, losing to No. 7 LSU, 79-66, at the Maravich Center in front of 5,386.
Bowden recorded her fourth career 20-point game and collected nine rebounds, while Marshae Dotson (Columbus, Ohio) posted her fourth double-double of the year and sixth of her career netting 16 points with 10 rebounds and leading UF's rebounding effort that tied the taller Tigers 34-all. Sha Brooks (Jackson, Tenn.) found her shooting touch in the second half, as she finished the night with 14 points, hitting 3-of-8 from behind the arc and Briana Phillips tallied a double-figure scoring effort for the second consecutive game and for the fourth time in her career, coming off the bench to hit three treys.
While UF did a good job of getting a more balanced scoring effort, turnovers ultimately determined the outcome, as the Gators (6-19, 0-10 SEC) committed 11 of their 20 in the second half.
“We did a good job of following our scouting report, but what was disappointing was the number of turnovers,” UF head coach Carolyn Peck said. “When you give up 23 points off turnovers and you look at the second half and it was a five-point game, it's tough. Erica White got her hands on a lot of balls, but I think some of our turnovers could have been avoided.”
LSU (22-3, 8-2 SEC), which extended its nation-leading home win streak to 43, shot 50 percent (30-60) in the game while committing just 11 miscues. Quianna Chaney led the Tigers with 14 points, while RaShonta Chaney and Sylvia Fowles both added 11 points. Fowles snared a game-high 11 rebounds, while Erica White had a solid night with nine points, six assists and six steals.
“You would have thought that with LSU's height advantage, rebounding would have been a nightmare for us, but when you look at the final stats and see that rebounding is tied and offensive rebounding is tied, if we just take care of the basketball we might get over the hump,” Peck said.
Dotson's first field goal of the second half got the Gators within seven points, 41-34, with 18 minutes remaining in the game before LSU ripped off a 10-0 run, forcing four UF turnovers during the span, as the Tigers took a 51-34 lead with just under 12 minutes left.
Bowden stopped the run with a short jumper and scored all points during UF's ensuing 7-2 march, cutting the deficit to 12 points, 53-41, with just under 10 minutes on the clock, ending with a deep 3-pointer from the right side of the arc.
The teams traded scores for the next few minutes before Bowden and Dotson connected on consecutive trips to get within nine points, 57-48, with 7:18 remaining in the game. LSU's Erica White then tallied the next three points before Bowden drilled another deep 3-pointer with defenders in her face and the Gators were again within nine, 60-51.
That's when LSU used a 7-0 on with all points from Quianna Chaney, as the Tigers built their lead back to 16 with just under four minutes left. While the Gators tried, they just couldn't counter, as the Tigers answered every Gator score with one of their own.
Florida shot 38.2 percent for the game, including a 41.7 percent effort from the 3-point arc where the Gators hit 10-of-24.
LSU scored the first two buckets of the game, but the Gators responded behind two straight inside baskets from Marshae Dotson and a 3-pointer from Briana Phillips, as the Gators took a 7-4 lead just three minutes into the contest.
The Tigers countered with an 11-3 run to take a 15-10 advantage thanks to seven points from RaShonta LeBlanc. Florida answered with Depree Bowden and Phillips netting the next two shots from the floor to cut the deficit to one, 15-14, with 11:13 remaining in the first half.
The teams exchanged scores over the next four minutes, with UF within two, before LSU used a quick 7-0 run to pull out to a 26-17 advantage with just under five minutes left. Dotson scored the next four points of the game and led a 6-2 Gator swing that cut LSU's lead to four points, 28-22, with 3:38 on the clock.
LeBlanc canned a 3-pointer to start a 9-3 LSU run as the Tigers began to pull away, 37-25, with 41 seconds remaining. Florida, however, refused to fold as Sha Brooks hit a pair of free throws and Bowden sank a driving layup to get the Gators within eight, 37-28, entering the locker room.
Dotson's 12 points and six rebounds led UF in the opening half, while Phillips contributed 10 points and helped the Gators hold a 19-15 rebounding edge over the taller Tigers, who shot 53.1 percent (17-32) from the floor and had nine different players get in the scorebook.
Florida next plays host to Mississippi State (15-9, 5-4 SEC) Sunday at 3 p.m. in the O'Connell Center. The game will be televised live by Sun Sports (Cox Cable channel 48 in Gainesville). The radio broadcast can be heard live in Gainesville on WRUF 850AM and on the internet at www.GatorZone.com.
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