Dyandria Anderson hadn’t scored all game. Undeterred, the Florida guard drove down the right side of the court. With the Gators down by three and just under five minutes remaining in the contest, Anderson lurched hard into a trailing defender and drained a layup while drawing a foul. She then swished the free throw and tied the game up at 55 apiece.
The three-point play, however, signified the only made basket in the game for Florida’s second-leading scorer.
In a back-and-forth defensive battle, Anderson’s cold streak, coupled with a poor showing from Florid at the three-point line, contributed to a 65-60 loss to Chattanooga on Wednesday afternoon in the O’Connell Center.
Anderson finished 1-for-7 from the field, with all six of her misses coming from behind the arc. UF’s normally reliable three-point shooting fell off dramatically against the Mocs. After averaging over 10 made threes per game, the Gators managed only four buckets from three-point range, their lowest output of the season.
Dyandria Anderson hadn’t scored all game. Undeterred, the Florida guard drove down the right side of the court. With the Gators down by three and just under five minutes remaining in the contest, Anderson lurched hard into a trailing defender and drained a layup while drawing a foul. She then swished the free throw and tied the game up at 55 apiece.
The three-point play, however, signified the only made basket in the game for Florida’s second leading scorer.
In a back-and-forth defensive battle, Anderson’s cold streak, coupled with a poor showing from the Gators at the three-point line, contributed to a 65-60 loss to Chattanooga on Wednesday afternoon in the O’Connell Center.
Anderson finished 1-for-7 from the field, with all six of her misses coming from behind the arc. Florida’s normally reliable three-point shooting fell off dramatically against the Mocs. After averaging over 10 made threes per game, the Gators (6-5) managed only four buckets from three-point range, their lowest output of the season.
After a low-scoring first quarter that saw Chattanooga take a 13-11 lead, Florida surged in the second, scoring 25 points on its way to taking a 10-point advantage into halftime.
In the third quarter, the Mocs (8-4) closed the gap after shooting 3-for-6 from behind the three-point line. Chattanooga outscored the Gators 25-12 to take a three-point lead going into the fourth.
Coach Cameron Newbauer said he wasn’t pleased with the way his team distributed the ball late in the game after recording just two assists in the second half.
“Playing all individual, selfish, one-on-one basketball,” Newbauer said. “That’s not what’s going to win games for us.”
Florida’s two second-half assists came 14 minutes apart. The last assist came from guard Funda Nakkasoglu, who dished the ball to guard Delicia Washington in the far corner for a go-ahead three-pointer with 56 seconds left in the game.
However, Florida would not score again and allowed Chattanooga to escape with the victory after a layup and four made foul shots.
Washington and forward Haley Lorenzen did their best to keep the Gators in the game, each recording double-doubles. Nakkasoglu led Florida with 21 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the field.
Newbauer said while his team kept fighting until the end, it still has issues responding to opposing runs and its own scoring droughts.
“Every game, we start getting punched and we just sit back on our heels and we don’t fight earlier,” Newbauer said. “It’s just frustrating right now.”
Contact Morgan McMullen at mmcmullen@alligator.org and follow him on Twitter @MorganMcMuffin.
Florida women's basketball coach Cameron Newbauer wasn't happy with his team after it recorded just two assists in the second half of its five-point loss to Chattanooga on Wednesday. "Playing all individual, selfish, one-on-one basketball," he said.
