Gator Country

Sha Brooks scored the winning basket with five seconds remaining to lift Florida past UAB, 77-75, in Birmingham, Ala./Gator Country photo by Tim Casey

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – A 20-0 run midway through the second half helped the Florida women’s basketball team erase an 11-point deficit and earn a thrilling 77-75 victory over Alabama-Birmingham at the Bartow Arena.

Sha Brooks scored the game-winning basket with five seconds remaining in regulation and finished with 15 points for the Gators, who won for the seventh straight time after losing the season opener at Florida Gulf Coast University in Fort Myers.

Florida head coach Amanda Butler was happy with the victory but not the way her team, which concludes a four-game road trip Sunday at North Carolina State, accomplished it.

“I am proud of Sha because I went after her pretty hard at halftime,” Butler said. “Sha really stepped up her game in the second half. She wanted the ball in her hand to make that last shot and she did. I knew she would make it and her teammates thought so, too. We all were confident with Sha having the ball at the end.”

“This was definitely a wild ride and we’re just fortunate to come out with a win because this was one of those ballgames where I felt UAB outplayed us in the first half,” Butler added. “We did not set the tone and we were sluggish. They were energetic. Where they were making plays, we weren’t. When you play poorly and you’re still able to win, you’ll take it.”

Sharielle Smith added 12 points and a game-high seven rebounds for Florida, which shot 50 percent (31 of 62) from the floor and held a 33-11 rebounding edge. Jennifer Mossor scored 10 points, while Brooks had six of the Gators’ 18 assists.

Freshman Trumae Lucas had her finest game as a Gator, scoring five points with three rebounds, two assists and two steals in seven minutes of action, most of which came during Florida’s game-changing 20-0 run.

UAB’s Britany Jones scored 17 of her career-high 28 points in the first half, helping the Blazers (2-5) take a 38-34 halftime lead. UAB also hit 50 percent of its shots (28 of 56), including 9-of-23 from past the 3-point line.

Brooks tied the game at 49-all after a 3-pointer with 14:49 remaining, but Florida went cold from the floor and the Blazers heated up, as four different players helped ignite an 11-0 run that ended with UAB holding a 60-49 lead with 11:45 on the clock.

Lonnika Thompson finally halted the run with a trey from the top-left of the arc and Lucas followed with another bucket from behind the arc as the pair helped the Gators stage an impressive 20-0 spree that featured four 3-pointers, with Thompson knocking down two and Smith adding one. The Gators came away from the march holding a 69-60 lead with 6:52 remaining.

Britany Jones ended Florida’s offensive spree and after Mossor followed with a bucket for the Gators, Jones scored three straight points, Fatiha Salaam added a driving layup and Ashlee Jackson nailed a three that cut the Florida lead to one point, 71-70, with 3:31 left. Salaam added one free throw that ended the 9-0 run to tie the game at 71-all and 2:22 on the clock.

Brooks answered for Florida with a driving layup and Marshae Dotson added one, too, as the Gators held a 75-71 lead with 1:08 to go.

Salaam then nailed a 3-pointer in front of the Blazers’ bench with 51 seconds on the clock that shrank the lead to one point. Florida missed on its end of the floor and UAB had a chance to take the lead, as Jones was fouled but missed the front end of the bonus tries. She hit the second and tied the score at 75-all with 32.2 seconds remaining.

Florida worked the ball around the arc on its ensuing possession and UAB fouled, but the Blazers hadn’t been called for seven fouls so the Gators couldn’t capitalize and get to the free throw line.

Brooks then rose to the challenge and with the ball in her hands, slipped into the paint and converted one of her patented driving baskets to give the Gators a 77-75 lead. During Brooks’ drive, however, the clock went out. The officials huddled and put five seconds back on the clock, giving UAB another life. Jones had the ball for the final shot
and launched a deep trey that actually bounced off the front of the iron and fell out as the final horn sounded.

The University of Florida sports information department provided details of the game for this story.

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