Florida’s Lanita Bartley (Jacksonville, Fla.) and Jennifer George (Orlando, Fla.) both eclipsed the 20-point plateau Sunday and the Gators snapped a four-game losing streak with a 78-63 victory against Mississippi State in the Stephen C. O’Connell Center.
The Gators (15-13, 5-9 Southeastern Conference) swept the season series with the Lady Bulldogs after posting a 67-60 win in Starkville on Jan. 30. Florida, which has demonstrated an affinity for close games this season, posted its biggest SEC victory of the year, winning by a 14-point margin on Sunday.
The contest marked Florida’s PINK ZONE GAME, which was part of a WBCA initiative to support breast cancer awareness. Head coach Amanda Butler sported specially designed shoes for the game, for which there was a silent auction for fans to bid on them ran through the entire game and continue in UF’s final home game, Feb. 27, with the proceeds being donated to the Kay Yow Cancer Fund and the winner being presented Butler’s shoes following the game.
"I'm just really proud with the way that we played today,” Butler said. “It wasn't perfect and certainly there were a lot of things that we talked about at halftime that had to be different, but it’s great to come off the bye week and feel like you're playing close to as good as you've played all season. I think that is what we saw in the second half and what should be happening right now as we generate some momentum as we go down the home stretch. There is no question that it was a team effort. With the rebounding and some of the defense that we played, that is why we won the ballgame."
Florida shot 49.1 percent (28-of-57) from the floor in the game, marking its second-highest shooting percentage in an SEC game this season and its third-highest percentage overall. Three Gators scored in double figures for the 12th time this season and Florida is now 8-4 when three players score in double figures. Florida shot a sizzling 64.0 percent (16-of-25) from the field in the second half.
Bartley scored a career-high and game-high 23 points on 9-of-12 shooting from the field, becoming the third different Gator this season to score 20 or more points in a single game. Bartley shattered her previous-best scoring total of 16 points set against Vanderbilt on Feb. 6. She also brought down eight rebounds, which tied for the team high, and dished out a game-high five assists.
George scored 21 points, which tied her career high. She eclipsed the 20-point plateau for the second time this season and tied her career high with seven made free throws. George also added three blocked shots in the game.
Freshman guard Jaterra Bonds (Gainesville, Fla.) tallied 11 points in the game, marking the 11th time this season she has tallied double-figure point totals. Junior guard Deana Allen (Houma, La.) chipped in nine points.
The Gators characteristically used a balanced offensive performance that saw six players score six or more points in the game. Florida’s 50 points marked the team’s most points in a second half this season, and were its second-most points scored in a single half this season. The Gators had 53 points in the first half against Alabama State on Dec. 20.
“I think the second half was definitely one of our best halves, if not our best half, this season,” Butler said. “Scoring 50 points is a big deal for us. You look at that and think we did a lot on the offensive end, but a lot of that energy and those points were momentum that was created by our defense.”
Florida won the rebound battle 43-37, limiting Mississippi State to 38.2 percent (26-of-68) shooting from the field. The Gators were dominant in the paint, out-scoring the Lady Bulldogs 40-24 in points-in-the-paint.
Florida jumped out to an early 12-6 advantage at the 12:37 mark of the opening half with six of those points coming from Bartley. Mississippi State then went on a 13-0 run, capped off by a Diamber Johnson lay-up, to take a 19-12 advantage with 9:56 remaining in the first half. The Gators then began chipping away at the lead to cut within one, 19-18, at the 6:47 after four consecutive points by junior guard Jordan Jones (Suwanee, Ga.). The two teams then traded baskets before the Lady Bulldogs built their lead back up to five, 29-24, on a jumper by Mary Kathryn Govero. Florida cut to within one, 29-28, after a pair of free throws by George and a tip-in by Bartley. Mississippi State’s Danielle Rector connected on a lay-up with 45 seconds left in the period to send the Lady Bulldogs into the locker room with a 31-28 advantage.
Florida shot 37.5 percent (12-of-32) from the floor in the first half, while Mississippi State shot 39.4 percent (13-of-33) from the field.
Mississippi State quickly built its lead back to five points, 36-31, in the second half after a three-pointer by Porsha Porter. The two teams continued to trade points before Florida rallied to knot the score at 42-all on a three-pointer by Allen with 15:14 remaining. That sparked a 6-0 run by the Gators that put Florida up by three, 45-42, as Allen fed Ndidi Madu (Antioch, Tenn.) for a basket at the 14:32 mark. With the Gators leading by one, 45-44, with 14:23 left, Florida engineered a deciding 16-1 run over the next 6:22 to take a 61-45 advantage after a pair of free throws by Bartley.
Florida widened its lead to 20 points, its largest advantage of the game, at 68-48 with 5:54 remaining on a three-pointer by Bonds. The Lady Bulldogs began chipping away at their deficit, using an 11-1 run to cut within 10, 69-59, on a three-pointer by Johnson with 3:36 remaining. That was as close as Mississippi State would come, as the Gators led by double digits the remainder of the contest.
Mississippi State (10-16, 2-12 SEC) was led by Mary Kathryn Govero’s team-high 17 points, while Johnson added 15. Porter brought down a game-high 10 rebounds.
