TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Freshman Brooke Copeland tied for the Florida women's basketball team lead in scoring for the first time in her career with nine points on 3-of-6 shooting from the field, but it wasn't enough, as Florida (5-3) fell to (RV/RV) Florida State (8-1), 77-51, at the Donald L. Tucker Center in Tallahassee, Fla. on Sunday afternoon.
Florida State opened the scoring in the first 30 seconds of the game (19:38) on an Adut Bulgak three-pointer. The Seminoles opened the game on a 16-2 run with the Gators' only two points coming on a pair of January Miller free throws.
The FSU run was capped off on a three-pointer by Bulgak with 16:26 remaining in the first half.
The Gators didn't go away quietly, as Florida went on a 6-0 spurt, pulling UF within eight points (16-8) at the 15:14 mark on an Antoinette Bannister layup.
After chipping away at the Seminoles' lead and switching to a zone defense, UF was able to force a few FSU turnovers and close the gap to seven points at the 8:27 mark of the first half on a Copeland triple.
The rest of the half was back-and-forth, as FSU carried a 38-22 advantage into the locker room at intermission. The first half featured eight FSU offensive rebounds, which led to 13 second chance points.
In the second half, Florida outscored FSU, 11-5, in the opening minutes to cut the lead down to 43-33 on a layup by Haley Lorenzen with 16:21 left in the game. Despite the early run by Florida, the Seminoles would not allow the Gators to reduce their lead to less than 10 points for the remainder of the game.
UF turned the ball over 30 times and allowed 24 FSU points off those turnovers, which proved to be the difference in the game.
Florida returns to action on Wednesday, Dec. 10, when the Gators host Wisconsin (2-5). Tip is scheduled for 7 p.m. in the Stephen C. O'Connell Center. The matchup will be aired live on SEC Network.