Junior
Jaterra Bonds (Gainesville, Fla.) scored 17 points and the Gator’s post
players stepped up and helped Florida earn a 61-55 victory against Mississippi
State at Humphrey Coliseum on Thursday evening.
Redshirt-sophomore
Kayla Lewis (Decatur, Ga.) scored 12 points with nine rebounds, freshman
Sydney Moss (Union, Ky) scored 10 points with nine boards and junior
center Vicky McIntyre (Omaha, Neb.) contributed 10 points, eight
rebounds and four blocked shots for the Gators who earned their first Southeastern
Conference road victory of the year.
It
was a tight ballgame throughout with Florida’s largest lead of the contest was nine
points twice, as the Bulldogs quickly answered both times.
With
the Gators (13-4, 2-1 SEC) holding a 51-42 lead with 8:30 remaining, MSU ripped
off a 10-0 run behind a pair of three-pointers from Kendra Grant, who finished with
a game-high 23 points, and took a 52-51 lead with 4:30 remaining.
Bonds
answered 25 seconds later with a driving layup through traffic and started a
game-ending 10-3 run that included six points from the free throw line.
Throughout
the game Florida would score on more consecutive possessions, however, the
Gators had several of those from the free throw line and came away with one
point.
MSU
entered the game with a tendency of sending its opponent to the free throw
line, with their previous two foes making a combined 75 trips.
Thursday’s
game continued that trend, as Florida attempted 39 shots from the charity
stripe and made 25, with eight different Gators finding their way to the line
paced by Bonds, who converted 8-of-10.
“We
had to play some great minutes down the stretch,” UF head coach Amanda
Butler said. “We didn’t play a lot of great minutes early in the ballgame
but down the stretch I thought we played our best basketball, very much the way
we finished against LSU (on Sunday). I’m really proud of our composure and
being able to close it out, especially on someone else’s floor with a couple of
players on their team that were having fantastic nights.”
With
Florida leading 57-55, Bonds was fouled with 57.8 seconds remaining, but came
up with blood on her arm and needed to be subbed out. Freshman January
Miller came in a made the first and missed the second, but Moss grabbed her
eighth rebound of the game and the Gators maintained possession.
Moss
dished to Carlie Needles, who was immediately fouled. Needles converted
one of two and Florida held a 60-55 lead with 51.8 seconds remaining.
MSU
missed its shot on its next offensive possession and Moss came away with the
board, where she again found Needles, who hit one of two and the Gators held
the 61-55 edge with 27 seconds left.
The
Bulldogs (8-8, 0-3 SEC) were able to get off just one shot in the final seconds
that went awry.
Florida
committed 19 turnovers that MSU converted into 22 points, but held a commanding
47-30 rebounding advantage in the game.
McIntyre
scored the first points of the second half and gave Florida a 32-25 lead and
similar to the start of the game, the teams traded scores, with MSU within four
points before the Gators scored four straight and took a 38-30 advantage.
It
was the third double-figure scoring game of McIntyre’s Gator career, while
Bonds tallied her 11th of the season and 39th of her
career. Moss recorded her ninth double-figure scoring game and Lewis notched
her eighth this year.
The
Gators used their sixth different starting lineup of the year, having to
replace All-American Jennifer George, who suffered a shoulder injury
against LSU on Sunday. George, UF’s leading scorer and rebounder, played a
limited role on Thursday.
Florida’s
other post players rallied for George, who did play in spurts, as Kayla
Lewis stepped up with seven points and four rebounds in the first half, Vicky
McIntyre added four points and Christin Mercer chipped in three
points and two rebounds.
Neither
team shot the ball well to begin the game, as Florida made just one of its
first four, but better than MSU’s 1-of-6 effort.
McIntyre,
who got her second start of the year, scored the first field goal of the game
before Bonds added two free throws. The teams traded scores for the next few
minutes when both teams continued to struggle with their respective shots.
McIntyre’s
second bucket of the game sparked a 7-0 run, as Lewis scored five straight
points and Florida held an early 14-5 lead.
“I
was really proud of the way Vicky played,” Butler praised. “She was a
difference-maker tonight. She knew she had to be and really stepped up and made
the plays we expected her to make. Those blocks were huge. Her rebounds were
huge. It was a really, really good all-around game for Mac and a great
confidence builder for her going forward.”
Mississippi
State came right back with a 13-3 march and tied the score at 18-all with 6:31
remaining.
Mercer
completed her fourth three-point play of the season during the run, as the Lady
Bulldogs began to find their stroke.
During
a four-minute span after Florida took an 18-13 lead, MSU hit 4-of-8 field goals
and forced three of the Gator’s 11 first-half turnovers.
Bonds
converted a pair of free throws, followed by one from Sydney Moss and another
bucket from Lewis and Florida took a 23-18 lead with 5:13 remaining in the
period.
MSU
came right back with the next five points, getting the tying bucket off an
inbounds play.
Florida
then turned up its defensive pressure, as Moss collected a steal and dribble
the length of the court for a layin. Bonds followed with nearly an identical
sequence, before Needles drilled a three-pointer from the top of the arc and
gave the Gators a 30-23 lead with 1:41 remaining.
MSU’s
Carnecia Williams ended the scoring in the first half and Florida took the
30-25 lead entering the locker room.
The
Gators return to the court on Sunday, Jan. 13, when they play host to No. 9
Tennessee in the O’Connell Center, where tip-off is scheduled for 11:30 a.m.