GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Bethune-Cookman fell to Florida 64-53 in non-conference women's basketball action Wednesday evening at the O'Connell Center.
 
The Wildcats (4-3) jumped out to an early 9-3 lead over the Gators in the first quarter, but only led 13-10 at the end of one thanks to a strong final couple of minutes from Florida. The Wildcats struggled to score in the second quarter with only six points over the next 10 minutes.
 
Head Coach Vanessa Blair-Lewis says that some lapses offensively hurt the team in the second quarter.
 
"We just didn't finish on shots that we should finish on," Blair-Lewis said. "We didn't connect on some of our layups and free throws, so it kind of gave (Florida) momentum."
 
At halftime, Florida (2-6) led 22-19.
 
At the break, Kiana Williams led all scorers with five points, while five other Wildcats contributed to the scorebook. However, none of them had really taken much control of the game. Coach Blair-Lewis says she wanted the team to slow the pace of play down and not give Florida any opportunities to score off turnovers or missed shots.
 
"I told them (at halftime) that we couldn't afford to take quick shots," Blair-Lewis said. "Because when we'd miss, that would lead to quick transition points for (Florida)."
 
Bethune-Cookman did start out strong in the second half and throughout the rest of the game as the Wildcats shot 44.8 percent from the field in the second half, up from 21.4 percent in the first half.
 
Blair-Lewis was proud of the way her team improved in the second half as she said that she felt they showed more effort.
 
"I was proud of the effort they showed defensively coming out of the half," Blair-Lewis said. "I think that there were still some times where we could have finished some shots that we didn't, and it continued to give Florida the opportunity to make shots on the other end."
 
Though the Wildcats improved tremendously in the second half, the Gators made 16 free throws and hit eight three-pointers throughout the game.

Williams, who had a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds, and Angel Golden, who had 14 points as well, led the Wildcats on the night. Chasimmie Brown had a strong effort too, scoring 8 points and adding 8 rebounds.
 
After a 1-2 road stint, the Wildcats will now host their next two games before playing in the Georgia State Christmas Tournament in Atlanta.
 
The Wildcats host Flagler College on Sunday at 3 p.m., as they'll look to bounce back from a tough loss in Gainesville. Looking forward, Blair-Lewis is excited to continue to develop her team as they look to finish out the non-conference schedule strong.
 
"We're only seven games in and still learning a lot about this year's team," Blair-Lewis said. "I think we have to be more disciplined defensively though, as there were a couple of assignments we missed tonight."
 
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