It took Angie Bjorklund nearly 40 minutes to score eight points, half her season average.
It only took a reverse layup with 2.3 seconds left in the game to break the Gators’ hearts.
Bjorklund’s score gave No. 4 Tennessee a 66-64 lead, and UF guard Lonnika Thompson’s three-point attempt at the buzzer clanged off the rim to seal the Vols’ win in the O’Connell Center on Thursday night.
“Our basketball team didn’t come here ready to play,” UT coach Pat Summitt said. “Florida outplayed us the majority of the game. We dodged a bullet.”
The Gators (9-8, 2-2 Southeastern Conference) rivaled the Volunteers (15-1, 3-0 SEC) in most statistical categories, but Tennessee’s size was too much and UF was outrebounded 46-24.
“We did everything that we possibly could, except collect a few rebounds,” UF coach Amanda Butler said. “We lost a ballgame that we should’ve won. Playing Tennessee close was not our objective tonight — it was to win.”
The Volunteers jumped out to an 8-0 lead within the first three minutes of the game, and Kelley Cain made her first three attempts, all in the paint.
Steffi Sorensen brought the Gators back with three successful three-pointers. Her last three-pointer started a 9-0 run that gave the Gators an early 15-14 lead.
The Gators limited their turnovers, which have been a problem for them all season, in the first half. After turning the ball over four times in the first four minutes of the game, UF tightened up and finished with 12 turnovers.
The Volunteers, who came into the game with a season-high 18 turnovers, committed 11 in the first half and finished with 25. The Gators managed 15 points off turnovers while Tennessee scored 15 off 13 fewer turnovers.
“It was like the ball was a hot potato,” Summitt said. “You got to give Florida credit. I really think they made us rush.”
The turnovers halted momentum for the Volunteers, but they didn’t erase it. Tennessee shot 36.7 percent in the first half but shot a blistering 60.9 percent from the field (14 of 23) in the second half.
Leading for the majority of the second half, the Gators had a balanced attack with four players in double figures. Sorensen led the team with 12 points, nine in the first half, and three others tied with 10.
“I was just taking what the defense was giving me,” Sorensen said. “We didn’t get the stops or rebounds that we need. That ultimately led to the loss.”
Kelley Cain spearheaded the Vols’ offensive attack with 17 points and 10 rebounds despite leaving late in the first half with a left hip injury. She came back in the second half and contributed six points. Shekinna Stricklen was second on the team with 14 points and was the only other player in double digits.
The Gators offense was heavily dictated by guard play.
Center Azania Stewart and Forward Sharielle Smith combined for seven points and four rebounds.
“Do we leave here confident? Absolutely,” Butler said. “I think we came in here confident. We left the locker room, even though it was a loss, knowing that we were a better team.”
The Gators will go on the road for their next SEC contest at Mississippi State on Sunday. The Bulldogs were dismantled by the Volunteers 75-48 last Sunday.
