Dec. 30, 2003
Box Score
GAINESVILLE, FL - The Baylor Lady Bears, for just the second time this season, trailed at halftime but came back to outscore the Florida Gators 42-23 in the second half to post a 71-54 road victory in the O'Connell Center on Tuesday night.
Florida led 31-29 at halftime but Baylor tied the game twice and took the lead for good with 13:54 remaning on a 3-pointer by senior Jessika Stratton. The Gators would get to within one point (44-43) with 13:14 to go but the Lady Bears held Florida scoreless for the next 5:42 while scoring 13 unanswered points.
Despite being outrebounded by six boards (26-20) in the first half, Baylor ended up winning the rebounding war 47-45, including 27 in the second half. In addition, the Lady Bears forced 10 Florida second half turnovers. On the night the Lady Bears tallied 20 points off turnovers compared to Florida's eight. Baylor's posts contributed 34 points in the paint and Baylor's bench scored over half of the team's points with 41. Baylor held the Gators to a season-low .269 (18-67) field goal percentage.
Junior Steffanie Blackmon came off the bench to lead the Lady Bears in scoring with a season-high 24 points. She narrowly missed a double-double, hauling down nine rebounds. Blackmon was 9-of-16 from the floor and 6-of-7 from the free throw line. Stratton posted her third straight double-digit scoring effort with 14 points and sophomore post Sophia Young tallied 10 points and nine rebounds.
Florida's Vanessa Hayden led all scorers and rebounders with a 26-point, 13-rebound performance. Bernice Mosby was the only other Gator to reach double digits, she had 10 points.
The victory raises Baylor's record to 11-1 on the season while the Gators are now 9-3. The win was Baylor's second win over a SEC team this season. The Lady Bears beat Mississippi State in both squad's season opener, 88-45. Baylor will now host Sam Houston State on Friday, Jan. 2 at 7 p.m. in the Ferrell Center.
