BATON ROUGE, La. — Jordan Jones connected on 15 points and led a balanced scoring effort but it wasn’t enough as the Florida women’s basketball team lost to LSU 72-58 on Sunday at the Maravich Center in front of 5,373.
Jones hit 4-of-7 three-pointers and 5-of-10 overall for Florida, which shot 41.5 percent (22-53) overall from the field, but was outrebounded 41-24, managing only four offensive boards en route to its fourth consecutive loss.
Florida (12-9, 2-5 SEC) was within seven points early in the second half before LSU (14-7, 4-3) used a 14-3 run and the Gators never quite recovered and fell to 1-7 in true road games this season.
UF did rally and got within nine points with just over two minutes remaining, but wouldn’t score again and the Lady Tigers tallied the final eight points of the game and won for the fourth time in their last five outings.
Twelve of Florida’s first 20 games this year have been decided by 10 points or less, with eight of those decided by six or fewer points, including the last two games where the Gators held a double-digit second-half lead but lost the two contests by a combined seven points.
“It was a complete lack of readiness on our part,” UF head coach Amanda Butler said of Sunday’s loss. “I know we’ve been through a lot emotionally in the last week, but that’s life, especially life in the Southeastern Conference. We did not have the level of intensity, especially on the defensive end in the first half. In crucial situations we turned the ball over and just didn’t get the job done. What has made us successful is rebounding and we got crushed on the boards today and had very little pride in our defense.”
Jones, who ended the game with 195 career three-pointers, also dished a team-high three assists for Florida which hit 9-of-19 from the three-point arc.
Junior newcomer Deana Allen, who was playing less than an hour from her hometown of Houma, La., pulled down a team-high four rebounds along with nine points.
LSU’s Adrienne Webb led all scorers with 18 points, while LaSondra Barrett just missed a triple-double as she contributed 14 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists in 35 minutes of action. The Lady Tigers converted 50.9 percent from the field, the highest by a Florida opponent this season, drained 7-of-16 from the three-point arc, with six coming in the first half alone.
LSU hit one free throw to start the second-half scoring and took a nine-point lead before Jennifer George hit a tough inside jumper and had Florida within seven points, 39-32, with 17:25 on the clock.
That’s when the Tigers exploded with a 14-3 game-changing run that swelled the hosts lead with 18 with 8:11 remaining.
Jones halted the final part of the run with a three-pointer from the left corner, but LSU netted the next two field goals and assumed a 57-38 lead with 6:49 to go.
The teams exchanged scores over the next minute before the Gators staged an 8-0 run and cut the deficit to 11 with 5:08 on the clock. LSU scored the next four points, but Jaterra Bonds nailed a step-back three-pointer and George powered up an inside field goal and Florida was within 10 points, 63-53.
After one LSU free throw, Allen hit an outside jumper off an in-bounds play and the Gators closed the gap to nine, 64-55, with 2:08 remaining.
Unfortunately for the Gators, those were the final points they would score, as LSU scored the final eight points of the game that began when it hit one free throw, missed the second, collected the loose ball and converted a deep jumper. The Tigers followed with a three-pointer with 51 seconds on the clock and added one final field goal to cap the game’s scoring.
LSU used two spurts to build a 38-30 halftime lead, the largest one was an 11-0 run in two and half minutes that turned an 11-10 Florida lead into a 21-11 Gator deficit with 9:21 remaining.
The Lady Tigers had one of their six first-half treys during that span, that began after Deaundra Young sank an eight footer from the side as the shot clock horn sounded.
Ndidi Madu halted the march when she hit a six-footer after dribbling and creating her own shot at the top of the arc.
Deana Allen followed Madu’s bucket with one of her own and brought Florida within six points, 21-15, with 8:12 on the clock.
But the Lady Tigers struck again from long range, as Jeanne Kenney nailed one. Jordan Jones answered with a three-pointer for Florida and had the Gators back within five, 26-21, with 5:52 remaining in the period.
Again LSU turned to its outside game and LaSondra Barrett canned one and started a 7-0 run for the Tigers, who took a 33-21 lead with 4:07 to play. Florida committed three of their eight first-half turnovers during the span, never getting off a shot.
Lily Svete got into the long range act and added one for Florida at the 3:45 mark and had UF within single digits.
Katherine Graham stepped inside the arc for a bucket for the hosts with 3:08 on the clock, as the teams went cold from the floor for the next two minutes before Jones connected on her second trey of the half.
LSU again followed a three and took a 38-27 lead with 44 seconds to go.
Both teams missed on their next offensive possessions, before Jones found Lanita Bartley on the wing, where she spotted up for a three-pointer with two seconds remaining and cut the deficit to eight.
The teams combine to hit 11-of-21 from the three-point arc, as eight different players connected on at least one, with LSU nailing six and Florida five, as both teams shot 48.4 percent and 48 percent, respectively from the floor overall.
Florida had good offensive balance, with eight players accounting for scoring paced by Jones’ seven points.
Florida next plays host to Alabama on Thursday, January 27 in the O’Connell Center beginning at 7 p.m. The game will be televised live on Sun Sports/FOX Sports Florida statewide.