The free-throw line reared its ugly head again for the Gators on Thursday night.
Florida (16-10, 6-7 Southeastern Conference) made just 13 of 23 free throws in a 75-69 overtime loss to Vanderbilt (20-6, 8-5 SEC) in Nashville, Tenn.
Losing to the Commodores dropped the Gatorsí record to 2-9 this season in games decided by six points or fewer.
Florida seemingly had the game in hand after Jaterra Bonds forced a key turnover by Vanderbiltís Christina Foggie with 15.8 seconds left in regulation.
Foggie, who entered the game as the SECís leading scorer with 18.1 points per game, drove the lane for the go-ahead score, but was called for a charge after knocking Bonds to the floor on the way to the basket.
Lanita Bartley made two free throws after drawing a foul on the ensuing possession, widening UFís lead to three points at 65-62 with 11 seconds to play.
Foggie redeemed her costly offensive foul just seconds early by draining a tying 3-pointer that danced around the rim and into the hoop at the final horn, sending the game into overtime knotted at 65-65.
"We didnít talk about [Foggieís buzzer-beater]; we just talked about getting ready to play," coach Amanda Butler said. "This five minutes (in overtime) had to be ours and we had to set the tone the way that we had for most of the ball game."
The overtime period proved costly for the Gators as the offense sputtered.
Florida scored just four points and made 1 of 9 field goal attempts in the extra period.
"We just weren't very cohesive as a unit, offensively," Butler said. "Consequently, we werenít getting good looks. We werenít taking what was there."
Jennifer George recorded team-high marks with 17 points and nine rebounds, narrowly missing out on her 14th double-double of the season.
The junior forwardís offensive output helped the UF bench outscore Vanderbiltís reserves 37-10.
The Florida bench contributed 11 of its first 19 points of the second half, helping build a 51-45 lead with 9:22 remaining.
However, the Gators failed to put the game away, never building on their six-point advantage.
"We had great momentum," Butler said. "We didn't sustain our intensity very well. We relaxed when we got up on them a few possessions and you canít do that at any point in an SEC competition."
A radio broadcast contributed to this report.
Contact Joe Morgan at joemorgan@alligator.org.
