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Sunday, Feb. 13 3:00pm ET
UT forces 19 Florida turnovers | |||||
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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- By the time Florida found its stride, it was too late to beat Tennessee (No. 3 ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll, No 2 AP). The Lady Vols, forcing 17 of the Lady Gators' 19 turnovers in the first half, took a 20-point lead en route to a 97-78 victory Sunday. Tamika Catchings scored 19 points and Kara Lawson added 17 to lead the Lady Vols (21-3, 9-1 Southeastern Conference). Tennessee also got 15 points from Semeka Randall and Gwen Jackson. Florida (14-9, 4-6 SEC) was led by Tiffany Travis with 17 and Tombi Bell with 13. Florida improved dramatically in the second half, scoring 49 points on 18-of-39 shooting. But the first-half mistakes and Tennessee's second-chance points -- the Lady Vols had 21 offensive rebounds that led to 20 points -- hampered Florida's opportunity at a comeback. "I think the fact that they had 17 turnovers in the first half was the key for us," Tennessee coach Pat Summitt said. "That let us get the lead at halftime. They (Florida) competed hard. They just had the turnovers." Florida stayed close for the first five minutes of the game. The Lady Gators led 8-6 early, but fell behind for good on Catchings' 3-point basket that gave Tennessee a 9-8 lead. The Lady Vols then used a 17-4 run to take control midway through the first half. Florida went nearly four minutes without scoring during the spurt, and trailed 35-19 with four minutes left. "We set the tone for the game with 17 turnovers in the first half," Florida coach Carol Ross said. "That feeds not only Tennessee but everyone else in the gym. That was the game in a nutshell. "That's 17 trips down that we don't get a shot. Throw in Tennessee's offensive rebounding and that means they are getting more shots. I flunked math three times, but I have enough sense to know that you aren't going to win many games that way." Michelle Snow and Lawson sparked the Lady Vols offensively in the last 10 minutes, helping Tennessee to a 49-29 halftime lead. "We executed very well in the first half," Summitt said. "We showed good shot selection and knocked down the shots. We played well as a team. We were a little more patient." The Lady Gators improved significantly on offense in the second half. But Tennessee was equally hot, shooting 51 percent in the half to maintain control. Jackson scored 11 points in the half and Catchings added nine. Tennessee connected on nine of its first 10 shots in the second half and pushed the lead to 67-42. Naomi Mobley tried to rally Florida, cutting the deficit to 14 points with a short jump shot late in the half. But the Lady Gators scored just two points in the final 1:50. "We came out in both halves and played like we needed to," Catchings said. "We've been inconsistent, but today we played for 40 minutes and gave it all we had." | ALSO SEE Womens College Basketball Scoreboard
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