The stage was set. The script was written. All UF needed was a hero.
Sha Brooks filled the role to perfection.
The senior guard posted 29 points and played the emotional leader the No. 11 Gators needed to knock off No. 12 Tennessee 66-57 on Sunday in front of 8,060 screaming, blue-clad fans in the O'Connell Center.
The win, in front of the second-largest crowd in school history, keeps UF (22-2, 8-1 Southeastern Conference) tied atop the SEC with Auburn nine games into the conference season.
Brooks, who has averaged more than 20 points against the four ranked opponents UF has faced this season, scored nearly as many points as the rest of her team (37) against the Volunteers (17-6, 6-3 SEC) despite only shooting 10 of 18 from the free-throw line.
She proved again that she plays her best in the big games.
"I basically just took what the defense gave me," Brooks said. "It was a lot of teamwork."
For Brooks, who hails from Jackson, Tenn., it was obvious from her emotions and what she said after the game how important getting this win was to her.
"It's just something about wanting to beat Tennessee," Brooks said. "Not saying that I don't want to beat every other team, but I really, really want to beat Tennessee."
The Gators, wearing black jerseys at home for the first time this season, had a real size disadvantage and were outmatched at every position.
UF used balanced scoring from eight different players and stingy defense in the first half to go into the locker room down 29-27 at the break.
Tennessee appeared to be in control in the second half after guard Angie Bjorklund hit a three at the shot-clock buzzer to put her team up 6 with 10:25 left.
Brooks decided at that point it was time to save the day.
She scored 12 straight points for UF, including back-to-back threes and a three off the backboard to reverse the score from a 7-point Tennessee lead to a 3-point swing in UF's favor.
"It meant a lot to everybody, just to show everybody that we are who we say we are," Brooks said. "That we really go out and we try to get a win. We don't just put on a show. We just don't put on a jersey just because it's got Florida on the jersey."
Up 57-55 with the ball and coming out of a timeout with 1:25 remaining, Steffi Sorensen gave the Gators some separation.
The junior guard hit a three from the corner off an inbounds pass from Brooks that put UF up by 5.
"Steffi's slippery," UF coach Amanda Butler said. "Great shooters find ways to get themselves open."
The Volunteers failed to answer on the next possession, missing the front end of a 1-and-1, and the Gators iced the game on free throws.
Tennessee coach Pat Summitt couldn't help but comment on Brooks' and UF's performance.
"She's a heck of a player," Summitt said. "That's a tough challenge, but I've got to give her a lot of credit. When they needed points, she provided it. This Florida team is playing really well together. They've got a veteran group that understands a commitment to defense, to rebounding and to sharing the basketball."
