Poor shooting night plagues Gators

PISCATAWAY, NJ — Rutgers used a devastating 17-1 run in the final minutes of the first half that was assisted by 14 straight missed Florida shots as the Gators dropped a 51-38 decision to the Scarlet Knights Monday evening in the Women’s Jimmy V Classic at the Louis Brown Athletic Center.

Senior Steffi Sorensen scored 13 points to lead Florida, which shot just 22 percent (11-50) from the floor during the game, including a 21.9 percent (7-32) effort from the three-point arc. The Gators (3-5), who held a 40-36 rebounding edge, did outscore the Scarlet Knights, 24-23, in the second half, but it was final nine

minutes of the opening half that was their undoing.

Brittany Ray led all scorers with 16 points, while Chelsey Lee added 12 points and nine rebounds for Rutgers (6-4), which hit 35.3 percent of its shots and held an 18-6 advantage in points in the paint.

“I thought the thing that really ignited their run was Chelsey Lee and they way she was playing and rebounding and controlling the paint,” Florida head coach Amanda Butler said. “She did a tremendous job of controlling the game and our post players didn’t respond. Our shooters then started settling for shots that aren’t necessarily high-percentage shots. It was a little bit of a snow-ball effect. A great team like Rutgers that is well coaches and has very, very talented players, shooting 21 percent in a half and getting outrebounded is going to dig us into a pretty big hole.”

Jordan Jones’ three-pointer from the top of the arc capped an 8-3 run and gave Florida its first lead of the game, 13-11, with 11 minutes remaining in the opening half. The Gators came out composed with their shot selection and hit 5-9 from the floor, with Jones’ trey the fifth field goal. Rutgers meanwhile, hit just 5-18,

but crashed the boards hard, collecting six on the offensive end and holding an early 8-2 advantage in points in the paint.

Chelsey Lee then took charge inside, scoring the next six points of the game and swinging the lead back to Rutgers. Lee’s march began a 17-1 spree, as Florida ended the half missing its final 14 shots of the period and committed four turnovers.

The Gators managed to hit just 21.7 percent (5-23) from the floor, including an 18.8 percent mark (3-16) during the first 20 minutes. Lee’s 12 points and six rebounds led the Scarlet Knights during the opening half, when RU held a 22-17 rebounding advantage, with 10 of their rebounds coming on the offensive end. RU also dominated the paint, outscoring UF 18-2 during the first half.

Rutgers extended its first-half run into the early minutes of the second, scoring three more points, as its spree moved to 20-1 and gave the Knights a 31-14 advantage with 15:42 remaining in the game.

Sharielle Smith ended RU’s run of 14 consecutive points, hitting a free throw and following it with a three-pointer. Lonnika Thompson then followed with two free throws and cut the deficit to 11 points, 31-20, with just under 14 minutes left in the game.

RU answered with a bucket, but Susan Yenser nailed a three-pointer. RU again followed with a trey of its own. Florida didn’t fold, as Jordan Jones hit a jumper inside and Steffi Sorensen nailed a three-pointer that brought the Gators within eight, 35-28, with 10:10 left on the clock.

The Knights came right back with treys from Khadijah Rushdan and Brittany Ray, fueling a quick 11-0 spurt and the Gators were down, 47-28, with 5:03 to play.

The Gators rallied to score the next eight points, the first three coming the old fashioned way from Azania Stewart and capped by a trey from Sorensen, that dropped the deficit to 11 with 1:58 on the clock. After Trumae Lucas sank a pair from the charity stripe the Gators were within 10 points, 48-38, with 1:33 remaining. Florida left three additional points at the free throw line, that could have cut the margin even further.

Rutgers hit 3-of-4 from the line down the stretch to keep Florida at a distance.

Florida continues its two-game road swing, next traveling to play Old Dominion on Fri., Dec. 11, with tip-off from the Ted Constant Convocation Center scheduled for 7 p.m.