Depree Bowden scored a game-high 21 points leading the University of Florida women's basketball team to an impressive 71-57 victory against South Carolina in the first round of the Southeastern Conference Tournament on Thursday in Nashville.   Bowden, the Gators' lone senior, tallied 19 of her points in the first half when she single-handedly out-scored the Gamecocks, 19-17, helping Florida (18-12) build a 34-17 lead at the break. Florida's intense defense forced a pair of shot-clock violations and limited USC to a paltry 19.2 percent shooting effort, as the taller Gamecocks hit just 18-of-40 from the floor.

  So, the Gators advance to the quarterfinals where they play third-ranked and #2-seeded Tennessee on Friday at 3:30 p.m.