The shots weren’t falling for the UF women’s basketball team against FSU, and the Gators lost by 4.
Against Pittsburgh on Friday, poor shooting doomed the Gators en route to an 81-58 loss.
“Clearly there were a lot of problems. … Disappointing from the beginning, disappointed with the way we started the game, shots didn’t fall. We didn’t prepare well enough and let down on all fronts,” coach Amanda Butler said. “Pitt kicked our butt.”
The teams were tied at 14 at 10:33 in the game, but the Panthers ran away with the game after that, going on a 12-0 run.
Pittsburgh’s Taneisha Harrison was a one-woman wrecking crew. The junior guard carved up the Gators for 20 points in the first half and scored a career-high 25 points to go along with five rebounds and four assists.
While UF shot and missed, the Panthers made their shots and also had open looks with a larger lineup that dominated the game.
The game got out of hand by the end of the first half, as the Panthers pounced on the Gators’ ineffective shooting and post game to establish a 43-20 halftime lead.
Pittsburgh outscored the Gators in every way possible, shooting 50 percent from the field including 7 of 13 from beyond the arc and dominating the paint with 20 points in the first half.
Florida’s weaker post game forced the ball to the perimeter and missed shot after missed shot built frustration — and the Panthers’ lead.
“The missed shots were certainly a problem,” Butler said. “But when you allow a team to score 43 points on you in 20 minutes of play, I think that’s a bigger problem.”
The Gators didn’t make their first 3 pointer until the 18:43 mark in the second half when Susan Yenser finally dialed in from downtown after the team was unsuccessful in its first 12 attempts.
“I don’t think we were mentally ready to come in here and battle and compete on someone else’s home floor,” Butler said.
Offensive ineptitude wasn’t helped by lapses in defense. The Gators forced four turnovers in the first half but couldn’t score off any of them. Pittsburgh by comparison, scored 11 points off Florida’s turnovers in the decisive first half.
“The only thing you can really control is your defensive effort and your rebounding effort,” Butler said. “We weren’t good in any aspect. You have to give Pitt a lot of credit, they were ready to whip our butts and that’s exactly what they did. They embarrassed us tonight.”
A radio broadcast contributed to this report.
