KNOXVILLE, TN — Steffi Sorensen scored a team-high 12 points with seven rebounds, but it wasn’t enough as fifth-ranked Tennessee pounded the Florida Gators, 83-44, before a Valentine’s Day crowd of 16,451 in Thompson-Boling Arena. (UF sports information department contributed to this story)
Florida played tough in the first half and weathered a number of Lady Vol runs, entering the locker room down just six points. The second half was all Tennessee, which outscored the Gators (13-12, 6-6 SEC), 49-16.
The Gators’ inside presence was hampered by the absence of sophomore center Azania Stewart, who was sidelined due to a stress fracture in her left foot. Stewart, UF’s leading scorer in SEC games and tallest player at 6-4, ranks second in the conference with a 60.2 percent shooting efficiency.
The taller Lady Vols took advantage by tying a Gator opponent record by blocking 12 shots and outscoring Florida 42-20 in the paint. UT also held Florida to just 27.3 percent shooting overall (18-66). The Gators committed 20 turnovers that resulted in 31 points for UT, which hit 53.1 percent overall (34-64), including 64.5 percent in the deciding second
frame.
Tennessee (23-2, 11-1 SEC) ripped out of the halftime locker room scoring the first seven points and extended its 34-28 lead to 13 points. Jordan Jones ended the run with a three-pointer, but Angie Bjorklund answered with one for the Lady Vols, who got a put-back from Alicia Manning to build a 46-21 advantage with 16:22 to play.
UT used its height advantage during those opening minutes of the second half, also grabbing the first seven rebounds that included three on the offensive end.
Sharielle Smith hit a bucket for the Gators and got them within 13 points, before the Lady Vols mounted a 9-0 spread and extended its lead to 55-35 with 11:47 remaining in the game and Florida was unable to recover.
“Today was very disappointing, especially with the way we played in the second half,” UF head coach Amanda Butler said. “I thought we showed a lot of fight in the first half and played Florida Basketball. But in the second half, the fight just wasn’t there. The things you have to do to compete weren’t there. Our challenge is to figure out why those things
weren’t there. You have to give Tennessee the credit for setting the tone because that’s what they did in the second half.”
Sorensen connected on four three-pointers, leading UF’s 8-of-26 effort from beyond the arc. Jennifer George collected a team-high nine rebounds, who contributing four points and a pair of blocks while playing a career-long 32 minutes in the absence of Stewart.
Bjorklund led all scorers with 24 points, hitting 6-12 on three-pointers, as UT converted 9-19 from long range.
Both teams started red hot from the floor, as Florida hit three of its first five from the floor that included treys from Sorensen and Lonnika
Thompson. Tennessee canned 5-of-7 in the opening minutes to take an 11-8 lead.
The Gators also turned the ball over three times and missed their next five shots after Thompson’s three-pointer, as the Lady Vols took advantage with 7-0 run that extended their lead to five. Florida came right back after Sorensen nailed her second trey and cut the deficit to two, 13-11, less than seven minutes into the game.
After Alyssia Brewer powered one up, Smith hit a three-pointer from the left corner and Sorensen struck again with her third from beyond the arc and gave the Gators a 17-15 lead that forced UT to call a timeout.
The Lady Vols responded out of the timeout, going immediately inside to Kelley Cain before Angie Bjorklund nailed a three that swung the lead back to the home team, 20-17, with 8:17 left in the opening half. Trumae Lucas stopped the mini run with a driving layup. After a Tennessee free throw, Jordan Jones stole an in-bound pass, dribbled the length of the court and converted the layup to tie the score at 21-all.
UT came right back with an eight-foot jumper in the paint off an offensive rebound from Alicia Manning and Shekinna Stricklen following with a pair of free throws to spark a 10-0 run, during which the Gators turned the ball over three times and watched the Lady Vols jump out to a 31-21 lead with 2:06 on the clock.
Florida refused to fold and Susan Yenser sank the Gators’ sixth trey of the half, before Lucas converted another bucket that cut the deficit to five with 1:15 remaining. Bjorklund countered with a trey, but George ran the floor hard after Lucas snatched a defensive rebound and the rookie was able to sink the layup with 20 seconds left to conclude the period’s scoring.
The Gators hit 6-of-18 from beyond the arc during the first half, also hitting an identical 33.3 percent mark overall (11-33), while outrebounding the significantly taller Vols, 23-18, which blocked eight shots and forced the 11 Florida turnovers.
The Gators continue their two-game road swing on Thursday, when the team travels to Lexington to play No. 17/16 Kentucky. Tip-off from Memorial Coliseum is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET, and the radio broadcast of the game can be heard live in Gainesville on WBXY-FM (The Star 99.5) and through http://www.GatorZone.com, the official website of the Florida Gators.