Mississippi State
8-12, 0-8
Florida
14-9, 4-5SEC
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florida | 36 | 31 | 67 |
| Mississippi State | 33 | 27 | 60 |
Lady Bulldogs Drop Home Decision To Florida, 67-60
January 30, 2011 | Women's Basketball
The Lady Bulldogs fell to 8-12 overall and 0-8 in league play, while the Gators improved to 14-9 and 4-5.
"It is all about 40 minutes of focus," MSU head coach Sharon Fanning-Otis said. "We have to do whatever it takes to take control of a basketball game and put ourselves in a position to win. Each game has a series of defining possessions. Right now, we are coming up empty on those possessions."
The visiting Gators scored the game's first six points and sprinted out to a 13-2 advantage less than six minutes into the contest. The Lady Bulldogs hung tough but could never grab a lead throughout the remainder of the contest.
Offensively, MSU hit 10 3-point baskets - the best performance in a conference game this season. MSU actually hit 52 percent of its shots from the field in the opening half. However, a 28.1 percent shooting performance in the game's final half derailed the home team's final hopes to rally.
After falling down 13-2, the Maroon and White battled back into the contest with seven straight points. A 3-pointer by Porsha Porter brought the Lady Bulldogs within 13-9.
MSU eventually battled back even at 18-18 on a Mary Kathryn Govero 3-point basket. The Gators quickly answered with a 9-2 run for a 27-20 lead. Again, the Lady Bulldogs found a defensive rhythm. A 13-7 run cut the deficit to 34-33.
Florida held a 36-33 halftime lead.
"Even though we dug a hole early, we did a good job of staying in the game," said Govero, a senior forward who topped the 1,000-career point mark in last Thursday's contest at Tennessee. "We have to take the next step. We have to learn how to finish games. Sometimes, we don't make the game simple enough.
"We make things too hard. We need to focus on doing what we are capable of doing, even late in games."
Florida held somewhere between a one- and eight-point lead throughout the game's final half.
Another 3-point basket by Govero cut the UF lead to 43-41 with 16:21 left. The Lady Bulldogs would then go more than five minutes without a basket. Florida only stretched the lead to 47-41 during that draught. However, the guests had totally gained control of the momentum.
Down 51-43 and 53-45, MSU staged two final rallies. A 3-pointer by Govero and jumper by Diamber Johnson cut the deficit to 53-50. The hosts again got within three on a Danielle Rector trey with 30 seconds left.
From there, the Gators hit four free throws to close out the victory.
"We are out-rebounded and the turnovers-to-assists ratio is not good," Fanning-Otis said. "The positive things we did offensively or canceled out by the negative statistics. We have to be more committed. Right now, it's a matter of maturity in relation to getting us to the next level. Until we reach that level of maturity needed, our efforts are coming to come up null and void."
For the contest, the Lady Bulldogs hit 22 of 57 shots from the field (38.6 percent), 10 of 19 shots from 3-point range (52.6 percent) and 6 of 8 shots from the foul line (75.0 percent). The Gators hit 23 of 47 shots from the field (48.9 percent), 6 of 13 shots from 3-point range (46.2 percent) and 15 of 23 shots from the foul line (65.2 percent).
UF held a 37-27 rebounding advantage. MSU had 13 assists and 19 turnovers, while UF had 14 assists and 21 turnovers.
Govero paced the Lady Bulldogs with 22 points, including six 3-point baskets. Porter added 18 points and a team-high seven rebounds.
Azania Stewart led Florida with 19 points. Jordan Jones followed with 18 points and Ndidi Madu scored 10 points for the Gators.
The Lady Bulldogs remain at home for a 7 p.m. start Thursday against Alabama.
