The Gators thought they had found their shooting stroke, but instead found frustration and missed shots Thursday.
UF (12-10, 5-4 Southeastern Conference) dropped its home game against Vanderbilt (17-6, 6-4 SEC) 66-58.
Florida failed to sustain its hot shooting from the Ole Miss victory, when the team shot 48 percent from the field and 52.4 percent behind the three-point line. Instead, the Gators shot 41.5 percent from the field, but struggled from beyond the arc at a 23.5-percent clip.
“From the tip, Vanderbilt set the tone,” coach Amanda Butler said. “We adjusted to the tone that they set, and we’re just not very good that way.”
Despite a size advantage and outrebounding the Commodores 36-28, both teams tied with 32 points in the paint.
“We did a good job on the boards, but that’s pretty much where it ended in terms of the positives about our performance,” Butler said. “I don’t think we had an effort problem tonight.”
Azania Stewart and Sharielle Smith finished with a team-high 13 points each, while Jennifer George and Steffi Sorensen followed with nine a piece. Stewart, Smith and George – all post players – combined for a 68-percent effort from the floor.
Aside from Sorensen, who hit two of her three three-pointers in the first half, the bulk of Florida’s first-half scoring came from the frontcourt with Stewart, George and Smith totaling 18 of the Gators’ 26 points.
The Commodores got scoring from their whole lineup. Seven of eight players who played scored in the first half, with Jence Rhoads leading the way with eight points. She finished with 14 and teammate Lauren Lueders had 13 and seven rebounds.
UF had trouble communicating on the offensive end and committed 11 turnovers in the first half and finished with 18, while the Commodores had 13.
The Gators also had problems from the free-throw line. They shot 55.6 percent, but only hit 2 of 6 in the first half, while Vanderbilt finished 9 of 12 at the line.
“The shots that are more concerning to me are not necessarily the missed threes, as the missed free throws,“ Butler said. “That’s not something that has been a weakness for us, it’s something we’ve been able to do consistently well.”
Florida will look to bounce back hosting Mississippi State on Sunday. Florida snagged a 55-52 road win against the Bulldogs on Jan. 17.
