Sydney Moss does not consider herself a fan of LeBron James, but she has used facets of the Miami Heat star’s game to compliment her own.
Like James, who is 6-foot-8 but has ball-handling abilities comparable to most NBA guards, Moss has a blend of size and agility that is difficult for many opponents to defend.
“LeBron does that really well because he is so much bigger than all the other people that guard him,” Moss said of James’ ability to take advantage of mismatches.
“Whoever is guarding me, I also try and pick them apart.”
Moss was successful in taking advantage of her opportunities during a 75-68 victory against Florida International in the first round of the WNIT on Thursday.
Jerica Coley, the nation’s leading scorer, lived up to her billing for the Panthers. Coley scored a game-high 37 points including an 18-of-18 performance from the free-throw line during the contest.
But Moss was equally impressive. The freshman guard used an assortment of pull-up jumpers, slashes to the lane and trips to the foul line to score a career-high 28 points on 13-of-23 shooting.
Florida trailed 15-4 with 15:54 remaining before halftime as Moss struggled early. She missed her first three shots before finishing the half with 12 points while making 5 of her 9 shots.
Her strong play continued as she scored 16 second-half points to help UF stave off a late FIU rally.
“The first like 2 or 3 minutes, I think I was 0 for 3,” Moss said.
“Then I think I got a layup, and whenever I went up, [the defender] smacked the side of my head, and it just started fueling me. I was like ‘Oh, they aren’t calling fouls?’”
The 28-point outburst followed a 22-point performance — Moss’ previous career-high — during Florida’s 82-73 loss to Tennessee in the quarterfinals of the Southeastern Conference Tournament on March 8.
After scoring 8.1 points during Florida’s first 14 conference games, Moss has averaged 18.6 points during UF’s past five contests.
“Her numbers speak for themselves,” coach Amanda Butler said.
“She’s had a level of consistency that demonstrates a high level of play. A lot of double-doubles in the non-conference [games] gave folks a glimpse of what they were going to get from her in terms of what she is capable of, and she really just has built on that.”
Butler also praised Moss for her willingness to spend time going through game film to identify her own strengths and weaknesses. The product of that has been season-long improvements on both ends of the floor.
“The thing that you can’t appreciate because you don’t get to see it as much is how much time Sydney has spent watching film, how much time she has put in at trying to become better at different elements of her game, (and) realizing where she is best,” Butler said.”
The Gators will need Moss to continue playing well, as Florida travels to Rock Hill, S.C., to face Winthrop tonight at 7.
Winthrop advanced to the second round after defeating Florida Gulf Coast 65-51 in the first round of the WNIT on Thursday.
“I’m a sore loser, so I just don’t want to lose,” Moss said. “Knowing if we lose we are done, I just keep fighting.”
Contact Phil Heilman at pheilman@alligator.org.
Freshman guard Sydney Moss (40) drives to the basket during Florida 69-58 win against Arkansas on Feb. 28 in the O’Connell Center.
