Michigan
9-3,1-0Big Ten
Florida
8-3,0-0SEC
Wolverines Fall to Hot-Shooting Gators at Jumpman Invitational
12/20/2023 8:47:00 PM | Women's Basketball
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- The University of Michigan women's basketball team recovered from an early hole to tie the game at 19 after the first quarter but could not overcome hot shooting from Florida in an 82-65 loss to the Gators on Wednesday (Dec. 20) in the Jumpman Invitational at the Spectrum Center.
Lauren Hansen led the Wolverines with 21 points, while Laila Phelia turned in 17 and Jordan Hobbs went for 10 points. Michigan struggled offensively, shooting just 36.7 percent from the floor while Florida shot 57.4 percent.
Michigan got out to a slow start, falling behind 11-2 as Florida hit its first four shots from the floor. U-M called timeout with 6:46 left in the first quarter to stem the tide. After the stoppage, Hobbs hit Michigan's first bucket of the game, a right-wing three-pointer, with just under six minutes remaining.
U-M slowly chipped away at the lead, eventually getting back-to-back triples from Hansen and Phelia to end the quarter with the score tied at 19 after U-M trailed by as many as 11 in the stanza.
The Gators scored the first eight points of the second quarter to immediately regain a 27-19 lead before Phelia hit a pullup jumper to put Michigan on the board in the period. The Florida lead hovered around double digits as the Gators hit 15 of their first 19 shots for a 38-28 advantage at the media timeout with 4:37 on the clock.
Florida hit the half with a 45-32 lead on the Wolverines behind 72 percent shooting (18-for-25) from the floor and a 75 percent clip (6-for-8) from three-point range.
It was an uphill battle for the Maize and Blue the rest of the game, as Florida outscored U-M by 10, 23-13, in the third quarter for a 23-point lead after 30 minutes.
Michigan hit a pair of triples to start the fourth quarter, prompting a Florida timeout with 7:45 remaining. U-M held a 20-14 advantage over the final 10 minutes but it was not enough to overcome the deficit.
Michigan wraps up the non-conference portion of its schedule on Friday (Dec. 22), hosting Florida A&M at 2 p.m. at Crisler Center. The game will be streamed live on B1G+.
