CORAL GABLES – Another slow start doomed the Florida women’s basketball team for the final time during the 2009-10 season as first-half shooting problems allowed Miami to advance in the Women’s National Invitation Tournament Sunday with a 77-64 victory at the BankUnited Center.
Sophomore center Azania Stewart scored a team-high 18 points and had six rebounds and a career-tying four assists for Florida (15-17), which shot just 29.2 percent in the first half. Miami (19-13) used a 15-2 run in the first half to put the Gators away.
Senior Steffi Sorensen scored all of her 15 points in the second half, finishing her two-year Florida career with 601 points and 161 3-pointers, five in her collegiate finale.
“We had scoring droughts, didn’t have shots fall, didn’t shoot with confidence and didn’t play well in general in the first half,” Florida head coach Amanda Butler said. “In the second half, we shot how we are capable of shooting, but when you’re playing a tough opponent on their home floor, it was too little, too late. You have to give Miami a lot of credit for how they played and how ready they were to capitalize on our errors. We just did a horrible job taking care of the basketball.”
Florida turned the ball over 18 times in the game, including 13 in the first half when Miami shot 40 percent from the floor and built a 32-21 halftime lead. While the Gators found their shooting eyes somewhat in the second half, hitting 47.2 percent (17 of 36), Miami dominated the boards, finishing with a 47-31 edge.
The game also marked the final collegiate appearances of Jennifer Mossor, Sharielle Smith, Lonnika Thompson and Susan Yenser. By scoring five points Sunday, Smith finished with 902 points and 713 rebounds. Mossor totaled 555 points and 160 assists in her Gator career. Yenser capped her career with 455 career points. Thompson tallied 465 points and 197 assists, seven coming on Sunday.
Shenise Johnson led four Hurricanes in double-figure scoring with 19 points, as well as 10 rebounds and eight assists, while Charmaine Clark scored 16 points.