Florida Women’s Basketball Suffers First Loss of Season
Florida women’s basketball faced their first test of adversity on the road, narrowly evading Chattanooga 64-58 in a defensive battle Sunday. When the Gators returned home to the O’Connell Center on Thursday, they were quickly met with a second test, a 16-point deficit against USF, their largest of the season.
Though the Gators made a comeback thanks to a 24-10 fourth-quarter burst that tied the game 70-70 at the 1:27 mark, it was too little, too late. The Gators suffered their first loss of the season, 72-70, to the Bulls (3-1), who won in Gainesville for the first time since 1977.
The Gators (3-1) couldn’t withstand Bulls guard Stefanie Ingram’s output, who ended the night with a season-high 25 points and led the team in rebounding, grabbing 10 to secure her first double-double of the season.
The warning signs came early on for Florida, as the Gators couldn’t cover the court in the opening minutes, leaving the Bulls wide open in the paint as they quickly jumped out to an 11-3 lead at the 6:11 mark. Ingram spearheaded the Bulls’ effort, leading the team with nine points and four rebounds in the first quarter.
But Florida started chipping away at the Bulls’ lead, gaining momentum midway through the first after Aurora Almon drove to the basket and drew a foul. They quickly built off the spark as Vanessa Harris forced a steal, leading to an easy layup for Almon in transition, helping the Gators cut down South Florida’s lead to 17-15 by the end of the first.
But the spark quickly fizzled out as the Bulls jumped out to a 34-20 lead at the 2:56 mark in the second. The bulk of the Bulls’ points at the half came from down low, outscoring Florida 26-12 in the paint while winning the battle on the glass, snagging 24 rebounds to the Gators’ 14. Ingram continued to anchor South Florida’s domination on the boards, leading the team with seven rebounds at the half.
The Gators’ lack of defense wasn’t helped by their inability to find the net. Florida entered the game averaging 46.7% from the field, but shot 35.5 against the Bulls in the first. Just when it looked like South Florida would run away with the game, a Jade Weathersby 3-pointer ignited Florida’s 9-1 scoring run.
Though the glimmer of hope didn’t last, the Bulls outscored the Gators 27-17 in the third and entered the fourth with a 16-point lead.
Forward Jade Weathersby tried to jump-start the Gators’ efforts off the bench all night, leading the team with 15 points.
Even after a Weathersby 3-pointer ignited an 11-2 scoring run for the Gators to trim the Bulls’ lead to 66-59 at the 6:09 mark and outscore the Bulls by 14 points in the fourth, the Gators’ inability to capitalize, missing two layups in the final minute, proved lethal.
Florida travels to Florida State on Sunday looking to take down an undefeated in-state foe and clean up its execution.
Category: Gator Sports, Gators Women's Basketball, Uncategorized
