FINAL SCORE - UF 62, LOUISVILLE 79
Well, another disappointing road loss for the Gators. A 6-point halftime lead turned into a 17-point defeat. Coach Butler said her team has to believe they can still win when things start going bad.
Marshae Dotson had another double-double (13 points, 10 rebounds) and was the only UF player to hit double-figures in either category.
Check tomorrow's Alligator as well as alligatorSports.org for full coverage of today's game.
WITH 4:32 TO GO - LOUISVILLE LEADS 68-54
And as quickly as opportunites come, they so leave as well. The Cardinals went on a 9-2 run and opened the lead back up and McCoughtry can sit on the bench again not having to worry of picking up her fifth foul. Brooks just picked up her fourth and is on the bench.
WITH 6:58 TO GO - LOUSVILLE LEADS 59-52
Here they come. UF might have some fight left in seems…then again McCoughtry just checked back in - no surprise there. But the Gators have a little momentum. If they can pull it to within two possessions or so until under-four minute timeout, they just might have a shot. They'll have to stop McCoughtry to do it though, she's not likely to make a silly foul - or at least Louisville coach Jeff Walz has to hope.
WITH 8:12 TO GO - LOUISVILLE LEADS 59-47
Well the Gators may have one final shot, but we'll see what they can do with it. With 9:11 left, McCoughtry picked up her fourth foul in a silly reach-in and had to go sit on the bench. Dotson is now dominating the paint gobbling up rebounds. UF needs to cut down the lead before McCoughtry comes back. The Cardinals have trouble scoring with her off the floor.
WITH 11:06 TO GO - LOUISVILLE LEADS 55-40
Well Depree Bowden finally made a bucket with just under 13 minutes to play. But that's the only 2 points the Gators have in the second half. McCoughtry did pick up her third foul a few minutes ago. The Gators will need to make a run, which they haven't done all year on the road.
WITH 14:21 TO GO - LOUISVILLE LEADS 49-38
This is almost like a broken record. Am I back in Nebraska??
The Cardinals' run continues as the Gators still haven't scored in the second half. In case you're scoring at home, this is now a 17-0 run by Louisville. Butler has put Bowden and Brooks back in just a few seconds ago because foul trouble might not matter if the game's out of hand. This one's almost out of control…momentum is all Louisville. Let's see if the Gators will have an answer, because they usually crumble at this point on the road…
WITH 15:50 TO GO - LOUISVILLE LEADS 43-38
No, that is not a typo.
It's all about second-half composure, which the Gators have lacked in the past…and are struggling at so far. In the first four-plus minutes, the Cardinals went on a 11-0 run, and Bowden and Brooks have picked up their third fouls. Looks like a recipe for Louisville to blow it open. The next 4 minutes may very well determine this game.
HALFTIME - UF LEADS 38-32
Well the Gators must have read the article I wrote in Friday's paper saying how they couldn't play on the road…
… well probably not, but Butler has them fired up here in a pretty decent-sized crowd. It'll be interesting to see how Bowden does after playing just a few minutes in the first half.
UF actually led by as many as 7 with two minutes left. The Cardinals' offensive continues to run through McCoughtry and she is living up to her billing as one of the best players in the country. She's got 18 of the Cards' 32 points. Leading scorer for UF is Dotson with 9. Mossor has hit two 3-pointers so far this far and they both came at times where Louisville was building momentum. The ridiculous pace of fouls being called finally cooled off by the end of the first half, otherwise I figured we might not have anyone left to play the game. McCoughtry has only one foul by the way.
WITH 3:35 TO GO - UF LEADS 29-26
Louisville did take the lead during the last break, but the Gators continue to fight. Butler decided to put Brooks back in a moment ago so we'll see if she can go the rest of the half without picking up a third foul.
Star for the Gators right now? Kim Critton with 7 points and some key offensive rebounds and putbacks.
Each team already has 15 turnovers, so another ugly one here. McCoughtry has 12 of the Cardinals' 26 points.
WITH 7:54 TO GO - UF LEADS 19-15
Well the fouls continue to mount for the Gators. Sha Brooks has picked up her second foul on a charge on a fast break. McCoughtry looks to try and lead her team as she recently dribbled and spun from the 3-point line through the UF zone to make a layup.
WITH 11:23 TO GO - UF LEADS 12-10
UF is fighting and scrapping to take a 2-point lead here. Butler is really close to losing it here as the questionable calls continue including a reach-in on Brooks that looked like a moving screen. Louisville coach Jeff Walz gave the officials an earful a moment ago as well after a charge was called on Candyce Bingham. McCoughtry has just missed back-to-back 3-pointers and the Gators continue to change up their defense to stop her. Kim Critton is guarding her currently when the team's in man-to-man defense. It's pretty exciting here early. McCoughtry is trying to excite her team.
With 15:29 TO GO - TIED 6-6
Well the Gators are playing well here early on but they don't have much of answer for Louisville's McCoughtry. Depree Bowden picked up two fouls already trying to guard her, and will probably miss most of the remainder of the first half. Jennifer Mossor is guarding her now, and just picked up her first foul. This game is being very closely officiated, with both coahces upset about some pretty tick-tack foul calls early on. Lonnika Thompson picked up a foul that I swear she wasn't even touching her.
PREGAME:
We're about 20 minutes from tipoff here in Louisville. This will be a tough one for the Gators, as they haven't played very well on the road so far this season and they're facing a team that dominates at home.
Some thoughts pregame:
- Louisville junior forward Angel McCoughtry is a bigger star than even I realized. She was the Big East Player of the Year last year, and earned preseason nod for the same honors this year as well as being named a first-team Preseason All-American. She already has two 30-point games this year.
- The Gators have just taken the floor. They're going to have to play their best basketball to keep up with the Cardinals. None of the Big 3 (Depree Bowden, Marshae Dotson, Sha Brooks) can get in foul trouble, and they each will need to have big games as well as possibly one other player. And I'm sure UF coach Amanda Butler hopes she gets lucky and McCoughtry gets in foul trouble. McCoughtry hasn't fouled out in any of the first five games, but did have four fouls in games against Western Carolina and Minnesota.
- Pretty decent crowd in the house as Louisville enters the floor. I'm courtside with a pretty nice seat right at halfcourt.
- I was hoping to post some pictures throughout today's game but our online department is still working out some kinks there so maybe next time.
