Women's Basketball: Senior Day

Sunday was Senior Day for the University of Florida women’s basketball team. An all-senior starting lineup with Jennifer Mossor, Sharielle Smith, Steffi Sorensen, Lonnika Thompson and Susan Yenseron took on Alabama. The starting lineup was not only the five seniors, it was the five players were best fitted to start the ballgame and set the tone, Butler said. The Gators started out slow but closed out the first half with a 34-26 score.

In the second half Gators went with a full-court press, and began to whittle away Alabama’s lead. With just slightly more than three minutes remaining in the game, Florida pulled ahead three points, 57-54. The Gators got some good looks, but in the last minute and a half, they were forcing some shots and could not over take Alabama. The final score was Gators 61 to Alabama 66.

The University of Florida women’s basketball team will be the No. 7 seed in the Southeastern Conference Tournament that begins Thursday, March 4 in Duluth, Ga. The Gators (14-15, 7-9 SEC) will play 10th-seeded Auburn (14-15, 5-11) in the first round on Thursday. Florida defeated the Tigers 71-68 in a double-overtime thriller on Jan. 7.

--Rodney Rogers