Box Score - Florida 61, South Alabama 51

ORONO, Maine – A big second half run by Florida proved to be too much for the University of South Alabama women’s basketball team as the Lady Jags fell 61-51 to the Gators Friday night during the opening game of the 18th Annual Dead River Company Classic at Alfond Arena.

“We definitely battled Florida at times in this game.  There is no question about that,” South Alabama head coach Rick Pietri said.  “In the second half, we were able to get ourselves a lead, but unfortunately there were just a combination of plays where we panicked.  We didn’t handle that sequence very well and it’s hard to recover from those types of sequences.  We battled back one more time late to give ourselves a chance, but then we weren’t able to get a defensive rebound on a missed free throw that could have given us possession to cut the lead to two or three with around a minute to play.  Hopefully, we will learn from the mistakes that we made, because we have some of the pieces necessary to be successful, but we have to be tough enough mentally for 40 minutes.  We just haven’t demonstrated that particularly in our last two games” 

USA (2-3) will now face either Navy or tourney host Maine on Saturday at 11 a.m. (CT) in the tourney’s consolation game.  UF improves to 4-1 on the season and advances to the championship game of the Maine tournament.

The Gators size inside caused problems for South Alabama as they out rebounded USA 57-42 – 29-14 at the offensive end – and held a 20-9 advantage in second-chance points.  Florida also outscored the Jags 36-33 in the paint and for the first time this season, South Alabama’s bench was outscored by its opponent (25-19).

Brittney Rutledge led the Lady Jas offensively with 10 points, while Christian Shelter added nine.  Senior point guard Siedah Banks chipped in with eight points of her own, to go along with five rebounds and five assists.  For the second-straight game, USA struggled to find its shooting touch, knocking down just 18 of its 60 attempts from the floor (30 percent) and just 5-of-19 from the arc.

Florida had three players finish with 10 points – Azania Stewart, Lanita Bartley and Jordan Jones.  Stewart also pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds and recorded three blocks. 

Both teams came out struggling at the offensive end of the floor as the two clubs combined to connect on just two of their first 18 shots.

Following the slow start, South Alabama was the first one to take more than a basket lead, as Rutledge and Lauren Walker each knocked down a long-range shot to give the Jags a six-point advantage (8-2) seven minutes into the game. 

Florida answered right back though and outscored the Lady Jags 11-2 over the next four minutes to take their first lead of the game.  During the run, the Gators went inside and then Jones drained a trey at the 9:58 mark to put UF out in front (11-10) and on the Jags’ next possession, Jennifer George stole the ball and found Jaterra Bonds for a layup to give the Gators a three-point lead with just over nine minutes to go before the half. 

USA battled back though and Rutledge, who recorded a team-high eight points over the first 20 minutes of action, knocked down her second trey of the half to tie the contest back up at 15-15 with less than eight minutes remaining before the intermission.  

Banks found an open lane to the basket and laid the ball off the glass to put USA back on top by one (19-18) at the 3:26 mark and after a Florida turnover, Cylenthia Kennon found Shelter open for a jumper to increase the Jaguar lead to 21-18.

Over the remainder of the half, the two teams exchanged the lead a couple of times, the last coming for Florida on a Kayla Lewis jumper in the lane with eight seconds to go in the half that sent the Gators into the locker room with a 24-23 lead.

Coming out of the break, UF opened the second half on a 7-0 spurt over the first minute, 15 seconds, but Banks ended the mini-run when the senior drove the lane for a layup.  On the play Banks was fouled and converted the bonus shot with 17 minutes, seven seconds to go.  From there, USA chipped away at the Florida advantage and retook the lead at 35-34 on Taylor Ammons’ turnaround jumper in the lane at the 14:08 mark.

Following the Ammons bucket, Florida turned up its pressure and caused the Lady Jags to make some poor decisions on the offensive end.  UF took advantage of those miscues and Jones’ layup at the 13:07 mark ignited a 16-4 run for the Lady Gators over the next seven minutes.  During the run, 10 of Florida’s 16 points came inside the paint.

With just over six minutes left on the clock, the Gators took their largest lead of the night (54-39) on a Lewis jumper with six minutes, 14 seconds to go.

Over the next five minutes, South Alabama attempted to rally back.  Banks ignited 12-2 run for the Jags when again drove the lane for a layup and knocked down the free throw after being fouled.  With just over three minutes to go on the clock, Sarda Peterson connected on her first three-pointer of the game, this one coming from the left wing.  USA then followed that up with baskets from Ammons and Rutledge that cut the deficit to five at 56-51 with under a minute to go.

Forced to foul late, USA sent Bartley to the line for a one-and-one opportunity.  Bartley missed the front end of the opportunity, but South Alabama was unable to come away with the rebound and Florida maintained possession.  Down the stretch, Jones knocked down five of her six attempts at the charity stripe to preserve the 10-point victory for the Gators.

For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com.  Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).