Shavonte Zellous had her best performance ever in a Panthers uniform, but her career-high 42 points weren't enough to keep the Florida Gators from handing Pitt a 90-83 loss in Gainesville, Fla., last night.

"I am so proud of our effort in every way today," Florida coach Amanda Butler said. "We gave up more points than we normally do, but I thought we played some very tough defense against some great offensive players. We rose to the occasion, answered runs and had great balance. There's probably not any better way that we could have ended the first semester than this."

Sha Brooks added 24 points and eight rebounds and Lonnika Thompson had a career-high 16 points for the No. 20-ranked Gators, who were able to push their way past the No. 16 Panthers in a second half that saw multiple lead changes.

Zellous, along with Xenia Stewart's 15 points, carved Pitt's 55-46 deficit into a 70-62 lead midway through the second half. Florida, which started employing full-court defense after its lead evaporated, went on an 11-2 run, capped by a 3-pointer, and took back the lead, 73-72, with 7:04 remaining.

The Panthers then scored five of the next six points to get back in front, 77-74, but Thompson drilled a 3-pointer from the left wing with 4:59 left to tie the score at 77. Thompson knocked down another 3 from just right of the arc to put Florida ahead, 80-77.

Pitt was able to cut the Gators' lead to 82-81 with 1:38 remaining, but a deep 3 by Florida, followed by a Pitt turnover resulting in a layup, ended the Panthers' chances.

Zellous finished the day 13 of 24 from the field, 3 of 4 from 3-point range and 13 of 14 from the line.