Photos by Casey Brooke Lawson
Heading into its Southeastern Conference opener with Mississippi State on Thursday, the No. 18/19 Florida women’s basketball team faced several considerable obstacles. The Gators, who do not start a player taller than 5-foot-11, would be forced to contend with a Bulldog front-line that featured four 6-footers in its regular playing rotation and the game was scheduled for a non-conventional 5 p.m. tip-off.
Behind a career-high 31 points from senior guard Sha Brooks, the Gators found a way to win as they have all season, fighting a stifling defense and one of the tallest teams in the SEC, to notch a resounding 80-66 victory against Mississippi State in the Stephen C. O’Connell Center. The game was played in front of 6,500 fans, the third-largest crowd in school history.
Brooks, who charted her fourth 20-plus point game of the season and the 21st of her career, became the first Florida player to score 30 or more points since Bernice Mosby poured in 31 points against George Washington on Dec. 22, 2003. She also tied a season high with four steals in 37 minutes of action.
The Gators improved to 15-1 for the first time in school history, extending their school-record win streak to 15 consecutive contests. Florida, which now has a 10-game home winning streak, won an SEC opener for the first time since 2006.
Florida shot 51.8 percent (29-of-56) from the floor, its highest shooting efficiency in a conference game since connecting on 56.5 percent of its shots against Alabama on Jan. 13, 2008. Three Gators scored in double figures for the seventh time this season.
Senior forward Marshae Dotson scored 17 points and brought down nine rebounds, just missing her second double-double this season. Dotson also tied her career high with a game-high five steals, while junior forward Sharielle Smith added 11 points.
The two teams entered halftime locked in a 37-37 tie. Both teams were extremely effective from the floor in the opening period as the Gators shot 51.6 percent (16-of-31), while the Bulldogs connected on 46.7 percent (14-of-30) of their field goals.
Mississippi State (12-3) was led by 6-foot-5 junior forward Mokango, who scored a team-high 17 points to complement a squad-best nine rebounds. Junior guard Armelie Lumanu added 14 points, five assists and four steals.
Florida returns to action on Sunday when it travels to Auburn, Ala., to take on undefeated and No. 9/8-ranked Auburn. Tip-off in Beard-Eaves Memorial Coliseum is slated for 3 p.m. EST.
Photos by Casey Brooke Lawson
Photo Gallery: Women’s Basketball vs Mississippi State, 1/8/09
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