After a back-and-forth first half, the Florida women’s basketball team exploded in the third quarter. Heading into the final 10 minutes of their championship match at the Arizona State Classic, UF had earned the first double-digit lead of the game.
It evaporated in minutes.
Surrendering 30 points in the fourth quarter, No. 19 Florida (6-2) was upset by unranked Arizona State (5-2), 69-63, on Sunday.
“We’re going to have to look at the film, and there are going to be a lot of things we’ll be disappointed (in) when we see,” coach Amanda Butler said in a release. “Arizona State is a good team and they made us pay when we took plays off.”
Contested from the opening tip, neither team was able to separate from the other in the first half. The first 20 minutes of action featured five lead changes, and neither team built an advantage greater than seven points.
Fighting from behind for most of the half, sophomore Eleanna Christinaki led the scoring charge for Florida, notching 10 points on 4-of-7 shooting. No other Gator scored more than four points.
However, despite trailing for over 12 minutes, UF managed to tie the game at 30 heading into the intermission.
That momentum carried over into the second half.
Outscoring the Sun Devils 21-9, the Gators got contributions from six different scorers in the third frame. Florida bookended its strong showing with two scoring runs — an 8-1 burst in the first minute of play and a 7-0 surge to close out.
Working with a 12-point edge, Florida’s typically stout defense had a seemingly routine task ahead of it.
Arizona State had other plans.
“I think we came out in the third quarter and showed how tough we are,” Butler said, “and then we just weren’t able to sustain it.”
The Sun Devils gashed the Gators, sinking their final nine shots and converting 92.9 percent of their field goal attempts in the quarter.
Hampered by foul trouble, Florida was also outrebounded 10-5, losing the turnover battle in the process.
“We got beat by a good team,” Butler said. “This is a chance for us to grow.”
That opportunity for growth begins when the Gators head to Tallahassee on Dec. 8 to square off against Florida State
Contact Alejandro Lopez at alopez@alligator.org and follow him on Twitter @ajlb95.
UF guard Eleanna Christinaki goes for a layup during Florida's 53-45 win against LSU on Jan. 17, 2016, in the O'Connell Center.
