UF topped Auburn in a double-overtime rollercoaster-type game in early January, but the Tigers brought the Gators’ ride to a screeching halt Thursday.
Behind a career-high 29 points from guard Alli Smalley, Auburn beat Florida 74-61 in the first round of the Southeastern Conference Tournament in Duluth, Ga.
Smalley’s play was redemption for her nine-point, 2-of-13 performance earlier in the season against UF.
She hit 10 of her 14 shots, including five three-pointers.
“It was actually really nice,” Smalley said. “I had a lot of open looks, a lot of air.”
From tipoff, the Tigers (15-15, 6-11 SEC) distanced themselves from the shoddy first-half team the Gators (14-16, 7-10 SEC) beat Jan. 7.
And they did so without a big game from 6-foot-7 center KeKe Carrier. Carrier posted six points and seven rebounds after a 24-point, 12-rebound outing last meeting.
UF center Azania Stewart returned from a five-game absence due to a stress fracture in her left foot, but she played just 14 minutes, tallied eight points, zero rebounds and three fouls.
The Tigers sustained several Florida runs throughout the game and put pressure on the Gators by shooting 51.9 percent from the field and 57.1 percent from three-point range.
Blanche Alverson had 13 points and Jordan Greenleaf added 15 points and 13 rebounds to notch the game’s only double-double.
“The way their guards played in particular, was fantastic,” UF coach Amanda Butler said. “Alli shot the ball really, really well. Blanche seemed to have such timely shots as well. It’s just disappointing because they really only have two true shooters, and those guys got shots off.”
Florida couldn’t answer, shooting a pedestrian 36.1 percent from the floor and hitting 7 of 22 three-pointers.
UF guard Steffi Sorensen, who was scoreless for the first 45 minutes during the first matchup against Auburn, didn’t take nearly as long to find her offensive rhythm this game.
She had a team-high 12 points before intermission on four three-pointers, while the rest of the team combined for 14.
But AU’s Parrisha Simmons held Sorensen to two points in the second 20 minutes.
“Parrisha did a great job of blocking her down in the second half,” Smalley said. “She was chasing her the whole way, was contesting every shot, and she wasn’t getting hardly any looks.”
Fellow senior Sharielle Smith had 11 points, but no other Gators scored in double figures and they were outrebounded 41-30.
A television broadcast contributed to this report.
