The Gators aim to carry their late-season momentum and emotions into the SEC Tournament, where Florida earned the No. 11 seed and plays No. 6-seeded Mississippi State in the first round.

 

Florida has won two of its last three games, while MSU has lost two of its last three with both of the Lady Bulldog’s losses coming in overtime.

 

The Gators and Lady Bulldogs also met in the first round of last year’s SEC Tournament, with fifth-seeded Florida defeating 12th-seeded MSU, 98-83.

 

Florida at the SEC Tournament

Florida sports a 13-26 all-time record in the league’s postseason event, reaching the championship game in 1997 in the team’s lone appearance in the final. UF is 8-12 all-time in SEC Tournament first round games.

 

How Young Are We?

Only four members of the current Gator squad have scored in an SEC Tournament game. Sha Brooks tallied 44 points in her two postseason games last year, while Marshae Dotson totaled 14 in two outings. Depree Bowden has scored six points in three games, while Briana Phillips has scored two points in one appearance in the league’s postseason event.

 

The Series vs. MSU

Mississippi State holds a 17-15 edge in the series history against Florida, but the Gators are 2-1 in SEC Tournament action against the Lady Bulldogs.

 

Florida has won three of the last four games in the series, however, Mississippi State collected the most recent decision, a 79-74 win in Gainesville on February 11th.

 

Last Time vs. Mississippi State

Sha Brooks led a frantic comeback effort with 19 points, but it wasn’t enough to overcome 10 three-point baskets and late solid free throw shooting from Mississippi State as the Lady Bulldogs escaped with a 79-74 victory over Florida on Feb. 11th at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center.

 

Florida mounted a 19-9 run in the latter stages of the second half and turned what was a 16-point deficit into a tie game with less than two minutes to play but Mississippi State came up with a pair of layups and made its free throws down the stretch to seal the game.

 

What’s Next?

The winner of Thursday’s first round game plays No. 3-seeded Vanderbilt (25-4) on Friday at 9:30 p.m. in the quarterfinals.

 

Who’s Hot?

Sha Brooks is gutting out her injuries to look like the ‘Sha Brooks of ‘old’ in UF’s last few games. She enters the SEC Tournament coming off a career-high tying 28-point effort against Kentucky (Feb. 25), playing all 40 minutes while connecting on 11-of-16 from the free throw line. Her 16 trips the charity TIED the program record, also accomplished six other times, while her 11 makes tied for ninth in Gator history. Over the last four games, Brooks is averaging a team-best 19.5 points along with 11 assists and 14 steals, both team-highs during the span.

 

It’s the Size of Her Heart

Sophomore Marshae Dotson continues to impress and was recognized by the league’s coaches as a Second-Team All-SEC performer! UF’s tallest starting post player at 5-foot-11, Dotson led the Gators in scoring and rebounding in SEC regular-season games, averaging 16.4 points and 8.1 rebounds while shooting 55.5 percent from the floor.

          In the regular-season finale against Kentucky (Feb. 25), Dotson contributed 22 points with nine rebounds, hitting 10-of-14 from the field.

          She recently tallied a 24-point, nine-rebound effort against Alabama (Feb. 18), when she hit 9-of-10 shots from the floor, including the game-winning bucket with 54 seconds remaining.

 

SEC Individual Stat Check

          In the SEC Games stats, Marshae Dotson ranked: No. 4 for scoring, No. 7 for rebounding, No. 4 for field goal percentage, No. 13 for steals and tied-No. 14 for minutes played.

          Depree Bowden ranked: t-No. 10 for scoring, No. 8 for rebounding, No. 8 for free throw percentage, No. 5 for steals and No. 6 for minutes played.

          Sha Brooks ranked: No. 8 for scoring, t-No. 8 for steals, No. 9 for free throw percentage, No. 7 for 3-point field goals made and No. 6 for minutes played.

 

 

Complete 2007 SEC Tournament Schedule

The Arena at Gwinnett Center * Duluth, Ga.

 

FIRST ROUND, Thursday, March 1

Game 1 - #8 South Carolina vs. #9 Auburn (1:00 p.m.) [RSN]

Game 2 - #7 Kentucky vs. #10 Arkansas (3:30 p.m.) [RSN]

Game 3 - #5 Ole Miss vs. #12 Alabama (7:00 p.m.) [RSN]

Game 4 - #6 Mississippi State vs. #11 FLORIDA (9:30 p.m.) [RSN]

 

SECOND ROUND, Friday, March 2

Game 5 - #1 Tennessee vs. Game 1 winner (1:00 p.m.) [RSN]

Game 6 - #2 Georgia vs. Game 2 winner (3:30 p.m.) [RSN]

Game 7 - #4 LSU vs. Game 3 winner (7:00 p.m.) [RSN]

Game 8 - #3 Vanderbilt vs. Game 4 winner (9:30 p.m.) [RSN]

 

SEMINFINALS, Saturday, March 3

Game 9 - Game 5 winner vs. Game 7 winner (6:45 p.m.) [RSN]

Game 10 - Game 6 winner vs. Game 8 winner (9:15 p.m.) [RSN]

 

FINALS, Sunday, March 4

Game 11 - Game 9 winner vs. Game 10 winner (7:30 p.m.) [ESPN2]

 

All times Eastern * RSN = FSN South, FSN Southwest, FSN Florida/Sun Sports

 

 

First Round Gator Game Day Information

Who: vs. No. 6-Seed Mississippi State (17-12)

When: Thursday, March 1, 2007 * 9:30 p.m. ET

Where: Duluth, Ga. * The Arena at Gwinnett Center (13,000)

Radio: LIVE on WRUF AM850 in Gainesville - audio simulcast on Cox Channel 96 with Steve Babik & Steve Russell  

Internet Audio: audio LIVE thru GatorZone.com

GatorVision Online: none

Television: LIVE on SEC-TV (FSN South, FSN Southwest & Sun Sports) ... will air state-wide in Florida on Sun Sports (G-ville Cox channel 48)

Gwinnett Center Press Row: 770-813-7612

Tickets: Public tickets may be ordered by calling 770-813-7500 or thru www.ticketmaster.com

 

 

Sun Sports/FSN Florida Television Coverage Breakdown

Thur., March 1:                         

1:00    SUN SPORTS  statewide

3:30    SUN SPORTS  statewide

7:00    SUN SPORTS  S. Florida

9:30    SUN SPORTS  statewide

 

Fri., March 2:                           

1:00    SUN SPORTS  statewide

3:30    SUN SPORTS  statewide

7:00    FSN FLORIDA  statewide

9:30    FSN FLORIDA  statewide

 

Sat., March 3                            

6:45    SUN SPORTS  S. Florida

9:15    SUN SPORTS  will start in S. Florida at 9:15pm then go statewide at 10pm

 

 

Post-Game Satellite Feeds

Producer: Carl Heinemann (615-975-8253)

Trouble #: 770-813-7619

 

Date: Thursday, March 1

Time: 6:30PM (1830ET-1845ET) & 12:30AM (0030ET-0045ET)

Length: 15 minutes each

Coordinates: AMC 2 (KU Band), Transponder 6

Uplink: 14120.0 V

Downlink: 11820.0 H

 

Date: Friday, March 2

Time: 6:30PM (1830ET-1845ET) & 12:30AM (0030ET-0045ET)

Length: 15 minutes each

Coordinates: AMC 2 (KU Band), Transponder 6

Uplink: 14120.0 V

Downlink: 11820.0 H

 

Date: Saturday, March 3

Time: 12:30AM (0030ET-0045ET)

Length: 15 minutes

Coordinates: AMC 2 (KU Band), Transponder 6

Uplink: 14120.0 V

Downlink: 11820.0 H

 

Date: Sunday, March 4

Time: 10:30PM (2230ET-2245ET)

Length: 15 minutes

Coordinates: AMC 2 (KU Band), Transponder 6

Uplink: 14120.0 V

Downlink: 11820.0 H

 

END OF REPORT