Kentucky’s Victoria Dunlap made two free throws with 10.4 seconds remaining to lead the No. 19 Wildcats to a 59-58 victory against upset-minded Florida on Thursday evening in the Stephen C. O’Connell Center.
The Gators (12-8, 2-4 Southeastern Conference), who led by as many as 10 points with just better than five minutes remaining in the game, found themselves down 57-55 after a reverse lay-up by Dunlap with 43.5 seconds left. UF junior guard Deana Allen (Houma, La.) responded with a three-pointer from the top of the key with 23.3 seconds left and brought the crowd to its feet.
Kentucky got the ball looking to reclaim the lead on the final possession and Azania Stewart (Wood Green, England) was whistled for a foul against a driving Dunlap with 10.4 seconds remaining. Dunlap connected on both free throws and the Gators were unable to connect on its final possession, as Ndidi Madu’s (Antioch, Tenn.) final shot hit the back of the iron and bounced out as the horn sounded.
“I’m obviously very proud of our fight,” Florida head coach Amanda Butler said. “For the majority of the game, I don’t think we executed very well, but we played with a great level of toughness, desire and passion, which we value very much. We’re not finishing out games with the same level of composure that we should. I don’t accept the excuse that we’re young and inexperienced – we’re not anymore. We’re better than what we showed that last eight minutes. Although I thought we showed a tremendous amount of fight, I just think we have got to value the ball more. You’re not going to beat a good team with 24 turnovers. ”
Allen led the Gators for the third time this season, scoring a team-high 13 points to complement four rebounds in 22 minutes of action. She was the only player to reach double-figures for Florida, which played its 12th game this season decided by 10 or fewer points and its eighth contest decided by six or less.
Freshman guard Jaterra Bonds (Gainesville, Fla.) and junior guard Jordan Jones (Suwanee, Ga.) each added nine points, while Jones was a squad-best 4-of-6 from the charity stripe. Freshman forward Deaundra Young (Titusville, Fla.) chipped in seven points and a game-high nine rebounds. Junior forward Ndidi Madu (Antioch, Tenn.) brought down eight rebounds, while Stewart blocked four shots.
Florida shot 38.0 percent (19-of-50) from the floor in the game, but connected on just 15-of-22 free throws (68.2 pct.), leaving seven points at the stripe. Kentucky shot 37.5 percent (21-of-56) from the field and made 12-of-17 free throws (70.6 pct.). The Gators dominated the battle of the boards 45-27, but the Wildcats held the edge in points in the paint at 26-16. Kentucky also scored 25 points off of 24 Florida turnovers.
The Wildcats (14-4, 3-2 SEC) were led by freshman guard Jennifer O’Neill, who scored a career-high 15 points as one of three Kentucky players in double-figure scoring. Dunlap added 12 points and eight rebounds, moving up to the No. 2 spot on the school’s all-time career rebounds list with 968 for her career.
Kentucky raced to a quick 6-0 lead before the Gators even attempted a shot from the field and committed four turnovers, but Florida responded with back-to-back baskets by Allen and Madu to cut within 6-4 at the 17:09 mark of the opening half. The two teams then began trading hoops before the Gators whittled their deficit down to one, 10-9, with 12:43 left in the half after a Bartley basket and a free throw by Young. From there, Kentucky employed an 11-2 run to jump in front by 10, 21-11, with 7:31 left until intermission.
Florida answered with a 7-0 run of its own that was capped off by a three-point play from Jones at the 5:02 mark that brought the Gators within three, 21-18. After the teams traded baskets, Bonds drained a three to cut Kentucky’s lead down to one, 24-23, at the 2:59 mark. Freshman guard Brittany Shine (Sacramento, Calif.) connected on the front end of a 1-and-1 to knot the score at 24-all. The Gators entered the locker room with a 25-24 advantage after a Jones free throw with 19.2 seconds left in the period.
Florida shot 38.5 percent (10-of-26) from the floor in the opening period, while Kentucky shot 33.3 percent (10-of-30) from the field. The Gators held the rebounding edge 20-17 in the first half, while the Wildcats forced 12 Florida turnovers.
The Gators easily extended their advantage to four, 30-26, after a Bonds three-pointer early in the second half, but Kentucky fought its way back to reclaim the lead at 31-30 on a basket by Kastine Evans at the 16:53 mark that capped a 5-0 run for the Wildcats From there, the Gators scored five consecutive points, including three from Allen, to go up 35-31 with 14:45 left. Kentucky responded with five quick points in transition to reclaim the lead at 36-35 with 13:44 remaining in the game.
With the Gators down 39-38, Jones hit a pair of free throws and then knocked down a three-pointer just a minute later to give Florida a 43-39 edge with 10:08 remaining. Up 43-41, the Gators got a pair of free throws and a basket by Allen to extend their lead to seven, 48-41, at the 8:49 mark. After Florida took its largest lead of the game at 54-44, the Wildcats began making their comeback. Kentucky ran off 11 consecutive points to go up 55-54 with 1:13 left on a free-throw shot by A’dia Mathies.
Florida returns to action on Sunday when it travels to Baton Rouge, La., to take on LSU. Tip-off is slated for 3 p.m. ET and the game will be aired on CST (in Gainesville on Cox Cable channel 259) and WBXY-FM 99.5 in Gainesville.
POST-GAME NOTES
· Florida dropped to 12-8 overall and 2-4 in the Southeastern Conference, while No. 19 Kentucky improved to 14-4 overall and 3-2 in league play.
· The Gators still lead the all-time series between the two teams 22-21, including a 10-8 mark when the game is played in Gainesville.
· Thursday’s game marked the 12th time in 20 games this season that the Gators have had a game decided by 10 or fewer points. It marked the eighth contest decided by six or less points this year.
· Florida is 59-161 all-time vs. teams ranked in the Associated Press Top-25 at the time of the game, including a 1-3 mark this season.
· The Gators used the starting lineup of: Deana Allen, Jaterra Bonds, Jordan Jones, Ndidi Madu and Azania Stewart for the second time this season and the second consecutive game. Florida is 0-2 with the current starting lineup.
· Florida won the rebound battle for the 16th time this season, boasting a 45-27 advantage on the boards.
· Deana Allen led the Gators in scoring for the third time this season. On the year, Florida has had eight different players emerge as leading scorers.
· Azania Stewart blocked a game-high four shots to give her 105 rejections for her career. She currently ranks seventh on the school’s all-time career blocked shots list.
