Balance Fuels Women's Basketball's Win Against Old Dominion, 63-55

Freshman Kayla Lewis (Decatur, Ga.) scored a career-high 13 points, sophomore Jennifer George (Orlando, Fla.) collected a career-high 12 rebounds and point guards Lanita Bartley (Jacksonville, Fla.) and Jaterra Bonds (Gainesville, Fla.) led the final 16-4 run that helped Florida earn a hard-fought 63-55 victory over Old Dominion Tuesday evening in the O’Connell Center.

After ODU scored the first points of the second half to take a four-point lead, the Gators used a 14-3 run to build a 39-32 advantage. The Monarchs (3-2) regrouped with an 8-1 run of their own and tied the game at 40-all with 9:32 remaining.

The teams then traded scores with six lead changes over the next three and half minutes, before ODU marched off a 6-1 spree and held a 51-47 advantage with 5:13 to play.

That’s when the Gators (6-1) ripped off a game-ending 16-4 run, fueled by Lanita Bartley and timely free throws to earn their fourth consecutive win.

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The Gators hit 10-of-16 free throws in the final 5:03 of the game and received scoring during that final stretch from Jaterra Bonds, who tallied six points, including a 4-of-4 effort from the line, Bartley, who contributed six points that included a pair of field goals, as well as three points from Jennifer George and two from Jordan Jones (Suwanee, Ga.).

“It just felt like Lanita took over the game. She wasn’t going to accept anything except us winning,” UF head coach Amanda Butler said. “When you have two point guards that have the competitive spirit that ours do, then you’ve got a chance every night.”

In addition to her career rebounding night, George came off the bench to scored seven points, including 5-of-7 from the free throw line. Lewis, who also came off the bench for the first time this year, responded with a career scoring effort, hitting 6-of-10 from the floor and was a bright spot during the first half when the Gators struggled overall with their shot, connecting on just 31.3 percent (10-32).

Florida finished by hitting 38.2 percent (21-55) from the floor and made 21 free throws, but converted just 58.3 percent from the line, as it made a season-high 36 trips. Florida also missed all 11 of its three-point attempts ending a streak of 96 games of having at least one.

Bonds recorded 10 points for her third career double-figure scoring game for Florida, which posted the 595th win the program’s 37th season of varsity action.

Freshman Deaundra Young (Titusville, Fla.) contributed six of her seven points during the second half, when Florida outscored Old Dominion, 38-28. Azania Stewart (Wood Green, England) tied a season-high of four blocked shots, while grabbing four rebounds.

The teams both recorded 38 rebounds, as Florida has not allowed an opponent to hold the edge on the glass this season, as every decision by the Gators has been by 10 points or less.

“I’m really, really proud of the way we played, battled and fought. It was a tremendous team win. Azania (Stewart) sustained us for a while. (Jennifer) George’s rebounds, especially down the stretch were huge,” Butler said. “I thought Deaundra Young gave us a spark off the bench. The plays were divided among everyone and I think that’s what makes us really hard to play against.”

Shadisia Green led all scorers with 14 points and four assists, while Tia Lewis added 11 points and Jasmine Parker tallied 10 with four assists, six rebounds and three steals for the Lady Monarchs, who shot 40.7 percent from the floor and hit 8-of-13 from the free throw line, but had 25 turnovers that Florida converted into 25 points.

Florida rose to the challenge on its first two defensive stands of the second half, but missed a handful of short range attempts and was unable to tie or take the lead after trailing at halftime for only the second time this season.

Shadasia Green connected on two free throws to start the second half scoring and gave ODU a four-point lead, but the Gators pushed the ball and Lanita Bartley dished to Kayla Lewis, who sank the layup and cut the deficit to two, 29-27.

ODU coach Wendy Larry didn’t like what she saw from her club and called a timeout following that play. The Monarchs were one and done on their next offensive possession and the Gators became more aggressive on the offensive boards and it eventually paid off, as Jordan Jones nailed a seven-footer in the lane and tied the score at 29-all with 16:02 on the clock.

The band had barely quieted after the media timeout, when ODU’s Jasmine Parker nailed a three-pointer and the visitors were back on top.

Deaundra Young brought Florida back within one after a power layup inside. A turnover by the Monarchs gave the Gators a chance to take the lead. Florida attempted a couple of shots, missed them all but great hustle by Deana Allen kept the ball with the Gators.

UF didn’t convert, but forced a quick turnover and Lewis nailed a 12-footer from the left corner.

After forcing another turnover, Young put back up an offensive rebound that gave UF a 33-32 lead. A furious defensive effort caused yet another miscue and the Gators were on the attack, as Jennifer George was eventually sent to the free throw line after trying to put back a miss and sank two from the free throw line that gave Florida a 37-32 lead with 11:24 remaining.

Young went back to the free throw line and made two more, as the lead swelled to seven, 39-32.

Jasmine Parker finally ended UF’s 10-0 run with a layup from the corner and Tia Lewis followed with a short jumper inside to cut the Gator lead to three.

Lanita Bartley hit one free throw, but ODU came back with a power move inside and the visitors were back within two with just under 10 minutes remaining.

Bartley missed a pair from the line and the Monarchs took advantage with a bucket to tie the game at 40-all.

Lewis kept UF in the lead with a jumper, but Jasmine Parker nailed a 25-footer as the shot clock was winding down that gave ODU the lead.

The teams then traded buckets and the lead, with Bartley slicing for both of UF’s scores and helped the Gators to a 46-45 lead with 7:06 remaining.

Parker again scored and the lead changed hands for the eighth time in the game. Bartley again missed two from the stripe, but this time ODU was able to connect and took a three-point lead with 5:55 on the clock.

Azania Stewart made one of two from the line and brought the Gators within two, but UF was whistled for a foul and Shadasia Green made both of her attempts.

Jennifer George continued UF’s free throw woes, hitting only one of two, but did bring the Gators back within three, 51-48, with 5:03 to go.

After an ODU turnover, Jordan Jones took her turn at the free throw line, where she made one of two and UF slowly cut the deficit.

George went back to the line and made one again. After a defensive stand, Bartley drove hard and converted the tough layup to give UF a 52-51 lead with 3:26 remaining.

Bartley struck again with another slicing drive and lifted UF to a 54-51 advantage with 2:47 on the clock.

Bartley couldn’t extend UF’s lead at the, where she missed one a the 2:16 mark, but her make increased the lead to four.

Tia Lewis ended UF’s run with two free throws, but Jaterra Bonds scored on a short jumper inside and the Gators again led by four, 57-53.

George was fouled collecting a defensive rebound and was able to make one for a 58-53 lead.

Bartley was then whistled for a personal going for an offensive loose ball, but ODU’s Voronina missed the front end of a one-and-one.

Bonds then took her turn at the line, where she calmly hit both and gave UF a 60-53 lead.

The Monarch missed a jumper and George corralled her 12^th rebound of the game – two more than her career high. She outletted the ball to Jones, who was fouled.

Jones missed the first but made the second and Florida held a 61-53 lead with 21 seconds left.

Green made a field goal at the other end and ODU called a timeout, setting up a full court press with 15.2 ticks remaining, as the Monarchs quickly fouled Bonds, who stepped up and nailed both for the final points of the game.

“I believe Old Dominion is a postseason team. I don’t know what the rest of their conference looks like, but they generally dominate it so there’s no question that beating a quality team like that is going to build our resume and more than anything, build our confidence,” Butler said.”

Florida had two turnovers before it got its first points of the game, as ODU raced out to a 7-0 lead. Stewart (Wood finally opened the lid on the bucket two and half minutes into the game.

The Lady Monarchs continued to feed the ball inside and it proved effective, as the visitors hit 5-of-7 during the early going, good for an 11-5 lead.

A free throw from Deaundra Young and an short jumper from Kayla Lewis helped the Gators reel in the Monarchs, closing the deficit to four, 11-7 just over six minutes into the contest.

ODU came right back with a similar scoring set and was back up by seven, before Jennifer George put back an offensive rebound.

Tia Lewis scored on a transition break and kept Florida at a distance, but after a couple of missed chances from both teams Rebbecca Allison converted a driving layup in traffic and had Old Dominion ahead, 18-10.

Ndidi Madu stopped the run with a jumper inside. Florida had a few other opportunities at close range, but couldn’t get the ball to drop and remained six points down until Kayla Lewis was able to sink her floating runner from the side and brought the Gators within four with 6:05 on the clock.

Lewis again hit from short range and cut the deficit to two, 18-16, but ODU broke out of its four-minute drought with an inside shot from Alena Voronina and JoNiquia Guilford followed 33 seconds later with another short shot and lifted the Monarchs lead to six.

Stewart answered at the other end for Florida and Madu followed with one free throw, but Parker nailed an 8-footer in the lane to push the lead back to five.

Jaterra Bonds then made two free throws and hit a 12-footer and the Gators were within one, 24-23. After a miss by Parker, Madu canned a 17-footer from straight away and gave Florida a 25-24 lead – its first of the game – with 19 seconds remaining.

Parker missed on the other end, but the ball went out of bounds with the possession remaining in favor of the visitors, who capitalized when Jackie Cook nailed a three-pointer in front of Florida’s bench as the horn sounded and gave ODU the 27-25 halftime lead.

Florida’s shooting woes continued, as the team hit just 31.3 percent (10-32) during the opening 20 minutes, while ODU shot a healthy 48.1 percent (13-27).

Cook’s three-pointer was the only one of the half by either team, as the Gators missed all nine of their attempts, while the Monarchs were 1-of-5 from beyond the arc.

The Gators return to action on Sat., Dec. 4, when the team travels north to compete in the Brown BEAR Basketball Classic hosted by Brown University. Florida plays Providence on Saturday at 4 p.m., before facing host Brown on Sunday at 2 p.m.

Dan McCarney starts at North Texas

DENTON, Texas -- North Texas introduced Dan McCarney as its football coach Tuesday afternoon, putting the former Iowa State coach in charge of a massive rebuilding project.

The Mean Green have a 13-58 record in six seasons since a four-year run of winning the Sun Belt and playing in the New Orleans Bowl. The hiring of McCarney, who had been the Florida Gators' assistant head coach the last few years, is representative of UNT's commitment to winning.

McCarney, the most accomplished coach North Texas has hired since his mentor Hayden Fry in the 1970s, signed a five-year deal that will pay an annual salary in the mid-six figures. That's a significant increase over the salary paid to fired coach Todd Dodge, who was hired after building a dynasty at nearby Southlake Carroll High School.

North Texas will open an on-campus $78 million stadium next season, completing an overhaul of the football program's facilities within the last five years.

McCarney, 57, had a 56-85 record from 1995 to 2006 at Iowa State. He inherited a program there that was coming off a winless season and had not played in a bowl game for 22 years. The Cyclones went to five bowls under McCarney's watch.

North Texas athletic director Rick Villarreal also seriously considered two other accomplished FBS head coaches: former Tulsa and Louisville coach Steve Kragthorpe and Dennis Franchione, whose recent coaching stops include stints at TCU, Alabama and Texas A&M.

Florida seems to be a likely pick for the Gator Bowl

A busy Thanksgiving weekend filled with rivalry games did little to narrow the focus of the Gator Bowl for the two teams it will match Jan. 1 at EverBank Field.

The SEC championship game on Saturday between Auburn and South Carolina will do more to determine the final pairing of SEC and Big Ten teams to play in Jacksonville. The Gator Bowl is in the first year of a four-year conference affiliation deal after the Gator Bowl matched the ACC, Big East, Big 12 and Notre Dame for 15 years.

The Gator Bowl favorites remain the Florida and Penn State, two teams that lost their final regular-season games to finish at 7-5. But Iowa's loss to Minnesota (also dropping the Hawkeyes to 7-5) might result in the Outback Bowl in Tampa, which picks a Big Ten team ahead of the Gator, opting for the Nittany Lions.

Iowa has been to the Outback Bowl four times since 2004. Penn State has played in the event three times since 1996.

Although both lost last week, Iowa is on a three-game losing streak and went 2-4 in the second half of the season. Penn State was 4-2 over the same span.

"We'd be extremely happy with either Penn State or Iowa," said Gator Bowl president Rick Catlett, who also pointed out that Michigan (7-5) and Illinois (6-5 with a game remaining Saturday against Fresno State) remain on the bowl's board.

If Auburn beats South Carolina, the Tigers would go the BCS national championship game and the Sugar Bowl is likely to pick up Arkansas as its replacement for losing Auburn to Glendale, Ariz.

Under the SEC bowl lineup (and most projections), the Capital One Bowl in Orlando would take Alabama to play Michigan State, the Outback Bowl would snap up South Carolina to face Iowa or Penn State and the Chick-fil-A Bowl would take Mississippi State to face the loser of the ACC championship game between Florida State and Virginia Tech.

The would leave Florida to the Gator Bowl, almost by default. The Gator could consider Georgia, Tennessee or Kentucky, who are all 6-6. One edge Georgia and Tennessee might have over the Gators is that they won their final games over archrivals (Georgia over Georgia Tech, and Tennessee over Kentucky), while the Gators limped to the finish with losses to South Carolina and Florida State.

Without eliminating any bowl-eligible team, Catlett pointed out that it's more than a debate on whether to take a 6-6 team over the 7-5 Gators.

"The three teams at 6-6 in this mix all lost to Florida," Catlett said of Georgia, Tennessee and Kentucky. "That's something that has to be taken into consideration."

The Gator Bowl will be able to announce its teams until after the BCS Selection Show on Sunday night.

Coach Wise Recaps SEC Finale, Looks Ahead to NCAA Tournament

University of Florida head coach Mary Wise addressed the media Monday morning as part of the Gators' All-Sports Media Day.

Coach Wise shared her assessment of last week’s lone match when Florida (27-1, 20-0 Southeastern Conference) capped off the first 20-0 SEC season in league history last Friday night with a 3-0 win at South Carolina. It marked the 12th perfect SEC season in program history and first since 2003.

Florida earned the program's first-ever No. 1 seed for the upcoming NCAA Tournament. The Gators will play host to South Carolina State on Friday night in the Stephen C. O'Connell Center and, should UF advance, it would play the winner of Florida State vs. Georgia Southern.

It is Florida's 20th consecutive NCAA appearance and 21st overall in school history.

Coach also discussed and fielded questions about the team waiting to celebrate the SEC title until after the win against South Carolina even though it clinched it the previous weekend, on playing the first round of the NCAA Tournament at home, on the improvements made by senior Erin Fleming, on looking at the NCAA bracket, on the team’s chances of moving deep in the tournament and on South Carolina State.

Volleyball's Murphy, Wise Garner SEC's Top Honors

Florida’s Kelly Murphy (Wilmington, Ill.) was named the 2010 Southeastern Conference Player of the Year and head coach Mary Wise was named 2010 SEC Coach of the Year to highlight a long list of end-of-year recognition that the Gators earned in the annual league awards, it was announced Monday evening.

Six Florida players earned All-SEC recognition, including three first-team selections. Murphy was named an All-SEC First Team selection for the second consecutive year, while seniors Lauren Bledsoe (Long Beach, Calif.) and Callie Rivers (Winter Park, Fla.) earned All-SEC recognition for the first time. Junior middle blocker Cassandra Anderson (Bakersfield, Calif.) and junior outside hitter Kristy Jaeckel (Littleton, Colo.) each were named to the All-SEC Second Team, while freshman setter Chanel Brown (Tempe, Ariz.) was named to the All-SEC Freshman Team.

Murphy’s recognition marks the 16th time since 1992 that a Florida player has been named SEC Player of the Year. She is the only player in the league this season to rank in the conference’s top-10 individually (all matches combined) in service aces per set (1st – 0.39), hitting percentage (4th - .370) and kills per set (9th – 3.05). She tallied six triple-doubles this season and 22 double-doubles, including a double-double in 14 of her last 15 matches. Murphy has hit .500 or better in eight matches this season and is a four-time SEC Offensive Player of the Week selection in 2010. She also was the AVCA National Player of the Week on Aug. 31. Murphy also adds 5.54 assists per set (as part of a 6-2 offensive scheme), 2.19 digs per set and 0.70 blocks per set.

Wise has directed the Gators to their first-ever NCAA No. 1 seed and a No. 1 national ranking in the AVCA poll for a school-record eight consecutive weeks. Wise, who earned her 700th career victory earlier this season, led Florida to the first 20-0 conference record in SEC history and the 12th perfect conference season in program history. Florida has posted a 27-1 overall record and, by virtue of doing so, has extended the nation’s longest streak of consecutive 25-win seasons to 20. It is the 12th SEC Coach of the Year honor in Wise’s career.

Bledsoe earns All-SEC recognition for the first time in her career after ranking 17th in the nation and third in the SEC with a .395 hitting percentage, which currently ranks 11th on UF’s all-time single-season hitting percentage list. Bledsoe also is fifth in the SEC with a 1.09 blocks per set average and is fourth on the team with 1.95 kills per set. She has led the Gators in blocks on 13 occasions during the 2010 season.

Rivers earns All-SEC recognition for the first time in her career, with the exception of a 2007 SEC All-Freshman Team nod, after ranking second on the team with 2.58 kills per set and finishing the regular season in third place in the SEC with 0.31 service aces per set. She is second on the team with 2.26 digs per set and has tallied double-figure kills on 10 instances.

Anderson was named to the All-SEC second team after leading the league in blocks per set with 1.24 and leading the team in blocks on 13 instances. In conference matches only, Anderson recorded a league-best 1.32 blocks per set. She also is sixth in the SEC with a .352 hitting efficiency, including a .372 clip in league matches. She has charted five or more blocks in 13 contests in 2010, including a season-high nine blocks in the regular-season finale at South Carolina.

Jaeckel was named to the All-SEC second team after ranking third on the team with 2.49 kills per set and ranking 10th in the SEC with 0.26 service aces per set. Jaeckel has recorded double-figure kills in 11 matches this season and has double-figure digs on six occasions. She charted two double-doubles in 2009. She has led the team in kills on eight occasions and, earlier this season, became just the 20th player in school history to reach 2,000 career attacks.

Brown has been in UF’s lineup every match as a freshman, earning All-SEC Freshman Team honors. Brown averages a squad-best 5.63 assists per set, setting in three rotations as part of a 6-2 offense. She is ninth in the SEC (conference matches only) with 6.01 assists per set and has charted two double-doubles this year.

No. 1 Florida begins NCAA Tournament play on Friday when it plays host to South Carolina State. Opening serve in the Stephen C. O’Connell Center is slated for 7:30 p.m. ET.

For all of the latest information on Florida volleyball, please log on to www.GatorZone.com/volleyball. Follow Florida Volleyball on Twitter at www.twitter.com/GatorZoneVB and Coach Mary Wise on Twitter at www.twitter.com/GatorMary.

SEC Player of the Year: Kelly Murphy, Florida

SEC Libero of the Year: Stephanie Klefot, Kentucky

SEC Freshman of the Year: Desiree Elliott, LSU

SEC Co-Scholar-Athletes of the Year: Lauren Rapp, Kentucky; Nikki Fowler, Tennessee

SEC Coach of the Year: Mary Wise, Florida

FIRST-TEAM ALL-SEC

Lauren Bledsoe, Florida

Kelly Murphy, Florida

Callie Rivers, Florida

Lauren Rapp, Kentucky

Angela Bensend, LSU

Desiree Elliott, LSU

Regina Thomas, Ole Miss

Nikki Fowler, Tennessee

Kayla Jeter, Tennessee

SECOND-TEAM ALL-SEC

Kayla Fitterer, Alabama

Jasmine Norton, Arkansas

Morgan Johns, Auburn

Cassandra Anderson, Florida

Kristy Jaeckel, Florida

Valentina Gonzalez, Georgia

Stephanie Klefot, Kentucky

Michele Williams, LSU

Ashley Newsome, Mississippi State

Leah Hinkey, Tennessee

SEC ALL-FRESHMAN TEAM

Raymariely Santos, Arkansas

Camila Jersonsky, Auburn

Chanel Brown, Florida

Whitney Billings, Kentucky

Desiree Elliott, LSU

Juliette Thevenin, South Carolina

Kelsey Robinson, Tennessee

McCarney takes North Texas job, source confirms

Dan McCarney, Florida's fiery defensive line coach for the last three years, has resigned to accept the head coaching position at North Texas, a source told The Gainesville Sun this morning.

McCarney was the head coach at Iowa State from 1995-2006 before being fired there. He coached at South Florida for a year before accepting a job in February of 2008 with Urban Meyer's staff.

This is the third straight year Meyer has lost an assistant coach to a head coaching job elsewhere.

Gators Win Nail-Biter Over Florida State, 55-51, For First Win in Tallahassee Since 2002

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - The No. 16/14 University of Florida men’s basketball team defeated in-state rival Florida State, 55-51, Sunday evening at the Donald L. Tucker Center in Tallahassee, Fla. Florida’s triumph in the state capital was its first there since a 58-57 nail-biter on Dec. 6, 2002, while improving its all-time record to 40-22 against the Seminoles.

Florida bettered its mark to 5-1 on the young season, and in the process handed Florida State its first loss of the year (5-1). The game, which was within five points the last eight minutes of the contest, came down to free-throw shooting, with the Gators making all four of their attempts in the final two minutes. Florida shot 12-of-16 (.750) from the line in the second half, while the Seminoles sank just 4-of-7 (.571). The Gators ultimately made 11 more baskets from the charity stripe than their rivals (17-of-25 to 6-of-11).

Florida was led in scoring by sophomore guard Kenny Boynton (Pompano Beach, Fla.), who tallied 14 points, five rebounds, three assists and three steals. Sophomore forward Erik Murphy (South Kingstown, R.I.) played clutch down the stretch, finishing with 10 points on a perfect 3-of-3 shooting, along with six rebounds. Junior guard Erving Walker (Brooklyn, N.Y.) also chipped in with nine points, three rebounds and three assists.

With Florida clinging to a 53-51 advantage after a three-pointer by FSU’s Michael Snaer with 53 seconds left in the game, Murphy put back in a missed Boynton three-point attempt with 16 seconds left to give the game its final score of 55-51. The Orange and Blue built up the lead to 12 (41-28) with 14:30 left in the game, but FSU went on a 15-3 run over the next seven minutes to cut the Gators’ lead to just one at 44-43. The two schools traded baskets back and forth after that until Snaer’s three cut Florida’s lead to just a basket.

The Seminoles made their first three shots of the game to take an early 7-2 lead, but then missed 13 of their next 15 attempts as the Gators went on a 15-4 run to make the score 17-11 in favor of the Orange and Blue. Florida State cut the deficit to two at 19-17 with 6:24 remaining in the first half, but UF used an 11-4 run to close out the half with a 30-21 lead at the break. The two runs were due in part to UF shooting 47.3 percent from the field on 11-of-23 shooting in the first 20 minutes, while holding their rival to just 28.6 percent on 8-of-28 shooting.

Snaer led FSU with 15 points (5-of-8 FG), with all five baskets coming from beyond the arc (5-of-6 3FG).

Florida improved to 66-8 all-time under Billy Donovan in the month of November, including a 42-4 mark the last six years.

The Gators next travel to Orlando, Fla., to face Central Florida at the brand-new Amway Center on Wednesday at 7 p.m. The game, which is the first collegiate basketball game in the history of the venue, will air on FSN/FS Florida.

No. 16 Florida holds off Florida State 55-51

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Kenny Boynton scored 14 points and Erik Murphy added 10, including a decisive late field goal, as 16th-ranked Florida held off Florida State's late rally to beat the Seminoles 55-51 Sunday night.

Michael Snaer's fifth 3-pointer of the game cut Florida's lead to 53-51 with 51 seconds left before Murphy's putback with 16 seconds left.

The Gators (5-1) opened a 53-48 lead with 1:20 left on two free throws by Murphy coming just 17 seconds after two by Boynton.

Snaer scored 15 points for the Seminoles (5-1).

Florida State shot just 33.3 percent against the smaller, quicker Gators and their leading scorer on the season, Chris Singleton, was just 2 of 12 from the field.

Florida made 17 of 25 free throws while Florida State scored six points from the line. The Gators also had a 35-31 rebounding advantage.

It was the first real test of the season for Florida State, which won its first five games by an average of 22 points over inferior opponents. The Seminoles host third-ranked Ohio State on Tuesday in the ACC/Big Ten challenge. The Buckeyes handed Florida its only loss of the season, 93-75, Nov. 16 in Gainesville.

The Gators led almost from the start, taking advantage of poor Florida State shooting on its way to a 30-21 halftime lead. Murphy made a 3-pointer from the top of the circle with 3 seconds left before halftime.

Volleyball Earns Program's First-Ever NCAA No. 1 Seed

Riding a 22-match win streak and having earned the program’s first-ever No. 1 seed, the No. 1 University of Florida volleyball team is among the NCAA Tournament field of 64 for the 20th consecutive season and the 21st time in program history, earning a berth to volleyball’s version of the Big Dance, announced Sunday afternoon.

The Gators, who earned the tournament’s top seed, begin their title quest on Friday in Gainesville, playing host to South Carolina State in the Stephen C. O’Connell Center. Florida State and Georgia Southern will square off in the first match of the day on Friday. The second-round contest will be played Saturday. Official times and ticket information for the NCAA First and Second Rounds will be released later.

Florida (27-1, 20-0 Southeastern Conference, the 2010 SEC Champion, is coming off one of its finest regular seasons in program history. The Gators, who have held the No. 1 ranking in the American Volleyball Coaches Association poll for a school-record seven consecutive weeks, on Friday became the first team in league history to post a 20-0 SEC record as the conference instituted a 20-match double-round robin format prior to the start of the 2006 season. It marked the 12th perfect SEC season in program history and the Gators’ first since 2003.

“I don’t think the selection announcement could come soon enough for these players,” Florida head coach Mary Wise said. “They’ve been looking forward to it and talking about it since our Friday-night match. To be the No. 1 seed is a reflection of our early non-conference wins and the fact that we went through a complete double round-robin – 20 matches – really without stumbling along the way. The committee gave us that No. 1 seed as a reflection of that in a year where there is so much parity that you could make a great argument for any one of seven or eight teams to be the No. 1 seed.”

This marks the 19th time in the last 20 years that the Gators have played host to opening-round contests. The four participating teams are vying for a berth in the Austin, Texas, regional, which will take place Dec. 10-11 at Gregory Gymnasium.  

Florida, which has been rated No. 1 in the Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) for the entire season, has extended its nation-leading streak of consecutive 25-win seasons to 20. The Gators, who have played perhaps the nation’s toughest schedule, boast a record of 10-1 against top-25 opponents this year.

The top-16 teams were seeded nationally and placed within four regions. In addition to Florida, the teams tabbed as the top four seeds were No. 2 Nebraska, No. 3 Stanford and No. 4 Penn State.

The Gators are 51-20 (.718) all-time in the NCAA Championship, including a 50-19 (.725) mark under Wise’s direction. Florida has advanced to NCAA regional action in 18 of Wise’s previous 19 seasons and has reached the national semifinal on seven occasions during that span.

In the 29-year history of the championship, 10 schools have been crowned champion, nine of which are among this year’s bracket, including three-time defending NCAA Champion Penn State.

Additional past winners making the field are Stanford (1992, 94, 96, 97, 2001, 04), Hawaii (1982, 83, 87), Long Beach State (1989, 93, 98), UCLA (1984, 90, 91), Nebraska (1995, 2000, and 06), Southern California (1981, 2002, 03), Penn State (1999, 2007, 08, 09), Texas (1988) and Washington (2005).

Six SEC teams made the 2010 field, including No. 11 seed Tennessee, Auburn, Kentucky, LSU and Ole Miss.  Seven additional teams from Florida’s 2010 schedule made the NCAA Tournament field, including the University at Albany, Colorado State, Florida State, Iowa State, Nebraska, Penn State and Texas. In total, 17 of the Gators’ 28 matches this season came against teams in the 2010 NCAA Tournament field.

Florida is led offensively by junior outside hitter Kelly Murphy (Wilmington, Ill.), who is the only player to rank among the SEC’s top-10 individually (all matches combined) in hitting percentage, service aces per set and kills per set simultaneously. Murphy leads the SEC with 0.39 service aces per set, while ranking fourth in hitting efficiency with a .370 clip and ninth in kills per set with 3.05.

“We know that everything we’ve been doing so far has been working towards something and we’ve achieved everything that we’ve set out to do so far this season,” Murphy said. “We know if we keep our focus and mindset that we’ve had from the beginning, we can achieve the goals that we set this season.”

Senior outside hitter Callie Rivers (Winter Park, Fla.) and junior outside hitter Kristy Jaeckel (Littleton, Colo.) follow with 2.58 and 2.49 kills per set, respectively. Rivers is second on the team with 2.26 digs per set and ranks third in the SEC with 0.31 service aces per set, while Jaeckel is 10th in the league with 0.26 aces per set.

Senior libero Erin Fleming (Orlando, Fla.) ranks eighth in the SEC with 3.59 digs per set, while freshman setter Chanel Brown (Tempe, Ariz.) dishes out a squad-best 5.63 assists per set.

Three Gators average better than 0.95 blocks per set, led by junior middle blocker Cassandra Anderson (Bakersfield, Calif.), who leads the SEC with 1.24 blocks per set. Senior middle blocker Lauren Bledsoe (Long Beach, Calif.) is fifth in the SEC with 1.09 blocks per set and also ranks third in the league with a .395 hitting efficiency. Sophomore right-side Tangerine Wiggs (Seattle, Wash.) chips in 0.97 blocks per set.

South Carolina State, which won the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, is making the school’s first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance. The Lady Bulldogs hold a record of 17-22 overall and finished with a 6-2 tally in MEAC play. South Carolina State captured the MEAC Tournament on Nov. 21 with a four-set win against Delaware State to earn the league’s NCAA automatic bid. After struggling to begin the season, the Lady Bulldogs have won nine of their last 11 matches.

South Carolina State was the MEAC’s leading blocking team (all matches combined), averaging 1.88 blocks per set. The Lady Bulldogs are led offensively by senior outside hitter Jarne Gleaton, who leads the MEAC with 3.46 kills per set and also adds 1.97 digs per set. Sophomore middle blocker Shabree Roberson and freshman middle blocker Desire Waller follow with 2.37 and 2.28 kills per set, respectively.

Junior setter Bria Brimmer leads the MEAC with 9.23 assists per set, while also ranking first on the team and eighth in the MEAC with 0.30 service aces per set. Sophomore libero Melissa Robinson is sixth in the MEAC in digs per set with 3.12, while Roberson is the team’s leading blocker with 0.94 rejections per set.

The pre-determined regional sites are Austin, Texas, University Park, Pa., Dayton, Ohio, and Seattle, Wash. The regional winners will advance to the semifinals and final hosted by the University of Missouri, Kansas City, and the Kansas City Sports Commission at the Sprint Center in Kansas City, Mo., on Dec. 16 and 18.

For all of the latest information on Florida volleyball, please log on to www.GatorZone.com/volleyball. Follow Florida Volleyball on Twitter at www.twitter.com/GatorZoneVB and Coach Mary Wise on Twitter at www.twitter.com/GatorMary.

FLORIDA’S NCAA TOURNAMENT NOTES

·          Florida has earned the program’s first-ever No. 1 seed to the NCAA Tournament.

·          The Gators are 51-20 (.718) all-time in the NCAA Championship, including a 50-19 (.725) mark under the direction of head coach Mary Wise.

·          Including the 2010 season, UF has made 20 consecutive and 21 overall NCAA Championship appearances (1987, 1991-2010).

·          The Gators have advanced to regional action in 18 of Wise’s previous 19 season and have reached the national semifinal seven times in the last 19 years, the last coming in the 2003 season when Florida finished as the NCAA runner-up.

·          Florida players have earned 35 NCAA All-Region Team honors, including five MVP selections. Elyse Cusack was named All-Gainesville Region in 2009.

·          The Gators will be hosting NCAA First and Second Round action for the 19th time in the last 20 years.

Florida assistant Dan McCarney accepts North Texas head job

The Denton Record Chronicle, which covers the University of North Texas, reported Saturday that the school has offered its vacant head-coaching position to Florida defensive line coach Dan McCarney.
ESPN reported late Saturday that McCarney has accepted the job. One source told The Palm Beach Post today that McCarney to North Texas is a “done deal,” and a second source confirmed that McCarney took the job.


After Saturday’s 31-7 loss to Florida State, Gators head coach Urban Meyer said he had not been informed of a North Texas offer for McCarney.

“No, not that I know of,” Meyer said. “I have not been made aware of that.”

Meyer’s comment did not rebut the Record Chronicle report. If the job was offered to McCarney on Friday or Saturday, it is conceivable that McCarney and Meyer had not spoken about it prior to the FSU game. All Meyer conveyed was that he did not know about a potential offer at that time.

McCarney has been at Florida the past three seasons. He was Iowa State’s head coach from 1995 through 2006 and went 56-85. He resigned after going 3-7 in 2006.

Here are the assistants who left last season and the new hires that replaced them:

Pos.	Coach	Went to	Replaced by
DC	Charlie Strong	Louisville	Teryl Austin
WRs	Billy Gonzales	LSU	Zach Azzanni
CBs	Vance Bedford	Louisville	Austin
RBs	Kenny Carter	Louisville	Stan Drayton

SEC Bowl projections: Florida vs. former coach Ron Zook in Gator Bowl

Florida ended the regular season 7-5 after losing decisively at Florida State on Saturday, and now the Gators’ best hope for a bowl game is the Gator Bowl.

Florida is higher than the seventh best team in the SEC, but will jump up to the conference’s No. 6 bowl contract because the SEC is likely to land two teams in BCS games.
If the Gator Bowl passes on Florida, it could be a precipitous drop. The Music City Bowl (Nashville) and Liberty Bowl might prefer nearby Tennessee or Kentucky over the Gators. That is unlikely, though, given how limited the Gator Bowl’s choices will be.
If the Gators go to the bowl named after themselves, they will face the fourth or fifth choice from the Big Ten. Illinois, Penn State, Michigan and Northwestern would be in contention to fill that spot.
At this point, bet on the on the Gator Bowl committee picking Florida vs. Illinois, which would pit the Gators against former coach Ron Zook. Zook coached the team from 2002 through ’04 before he was fired.
Here are the current bowl projections for the SEC:

Bowl	Date	Site	Contract	SEC Team	Projected opponent
Championship	1/10	Glendale, AZ	BCS #1 vs. #2	Auburn	Oregon
Sugar	1/4	New Orleans	SEC BCS vs BCS	Arkansas	UConn
Capital One	1/1	Orlando	SEC #2 vs. Big Ten #2	LSU	Michigan St.
Outback	1/1	Tampa	SEC #3/4 vs. Big Ten #3	S. Carolina	Iowa
Cotton	1/7	Arlington, TX	SEC #3/4 vs. Big 12 #2	Alabama	Okla. St.
Chick-fil-A	12/31	Atlanta	SEC #5 vs. ACC #2	Miss. St.	Florida St.
Gator	1/1	Jacksonville	SEC #6 vs. Big Ten #4/5	Florida	Illinois
Music City	12/30	Nashville	SEC #7 vs. ACC #6	Tennessee	Georgia Tech
Liberty	12/30	Memphis	SEC #8/9 vs. C-USA #1	Kentucky	UCF
BBVA Compass	1/8	Birmingham	SEC #8/9 vs. Big East #5	Georgia	USF

Florida’s last trip to the Gator Bowl was 1992, when it beat North Carolina State. Illinois has not played in the game.

No. 16 Florida Looks To End Road Woes Against FSU Sunday As 4-Point Underdogs

It is shaping up to be a big weekend in Tallahassee. The Florida State football team ended their 6-game losing streak to the Florida Gators on Saturday and on Sunday will look to continue their dominance on the hardwood as they face the Gators in Men’s College Basketball action.


Florida (4-1) enters the game as the 16th ranked team in the country, but has not had much success in Tallahassee as of late where they have lost four straight. They did hand the Noles a 68-52 loss last November at home, but have struggled on the road against FSU. This marks a big stretch for Florida State where they have to turn right around and face No. 3 Ohio State on Tuesday.

“We’ve just got to go out there and take advantage of this unique and special opportunity we have with the University of Florida coming in to play us on Sunday,” coach Leonard Hamilton said. “We can’t enjoy the luxury of looking past them to the second game. First things first.”

The Noles have jumped out to 5-0 to start the season and are led by Chris Singleton who has four straight double-doubles heading into Sunday’s showdown. He’s averaging 17.4 points and is shooting 54.9 percent from the field.

FSU is averaging 83.6 points per game while only allowing 60.4. To accompany Singleton, Florida State does have experience that will be huge. They have gotten great play from their big men and point guard Derwin Kitchens has been solid this season. But Sunday, they will face their toughest test of the season.

Florida will be playing in their first road game after coming off two lackluster performances at home. They beat Florida Atlantic 79-66 on Tuesday, but struggled two days earlier where they managed just a 61-55 win over Morehead State. Their only loss on the year is to Ohio State.

The Gators are averaging 79.4 points per game and have four players averaging in double figures. Sophomore guard Kenny Boynton leads this group with 15.6. They are allowing 65.8 points per game defensively and will be tested again by the Noles.

Florida State will enter the game as 4 point favorites according to NCAA Basketball sportsbooks.

Florida, Meyer get humbled in Tallahassee 31-7

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TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Florida coach Urban Meyer refused to point fingers - again.

This time, he didn't have to.

It was obvious what went wrong with the Gators. The three-quarterback system failed miserably, there were costly turnovers, a failed fake punt, a nonexistent pass rush and cornerback Moses Jenkins getting picked on left and right. The result was a 31-7 drubbing at Florida State that snapped Florida's six-game winning streak in the series and left the Gators with five regular-season losses for the first time since 1988.

"I can assure you we are going to rebuild this thing and build it up the right way and do it right," Meyer said. "Obviously we are down a little bit. I didn't believe we'd be that far down, but we are. How do you build a program up? You build it up with tough players, tough coaches and you have got to play better."

The Gators couldn't play much worse.

Andre Debose returned a kickoff 62 yards, setting up a 20-yard touchdown pass from John Brantley to Robert Clark on Florida's opening possession. But the next five drives were pretty much one mistake after another for the Gators (7-5).

Backup quarterback Jordan Reed fumbled to end one drive. Chris Rainey fumbled on the next. Meyer tried to stop the momentum by calling for a fake punt, but Chas Henry was stopped for a short gain on fourth-and-5.

"I just wanted to make something happen. It didn't happen," Meyer said. "It killed us."

The Seminoles turned the mistakes into 14 points and a 17-7 lead.

Things snowballed from there.

Florida punted, and Christian Ponder drove the Seminoles 73 yards for another score. Meyer responded by turning the offense over to Reed - but only briefly. After Reed led Florida to the Florida State 20, Brantley re-entered the game and promptly threw an interception.

"Turnovers, period, just killed us," said center Mike Pouncey, who left the game with a chest injury and will have X-rays back in Gainesville. "Every turnover we had hurts a lot. That one pretty much put the dagger in us."

Florida finished with 276 yards, only 89 in the second half.

Reed ran for 74 yards but left in the third quarter with a concussion. Rainey added 73 yards on the ground, and Jeff Demps chipped in 44.

But trailing big, Florida simply couldn't throw the ball. Brantley completed 6 of 12 passes for 52 yards. Reed threw four times for 12 yards.

"Just really ineffective in certain areas, really, really ineffective," Meyer said. "So if that's because of three quarterbacks, we'll blow that thing completely out of the water. If it's not, then that's our best opportunity to win right now."

The Gators lost for the fifth time in seven games, but they're still headed to a bowl - likely the Gator Bowl or maybe the Music City Bowl.

Meyer said he "wasn't going to get into" any potential coaching changes right now. He said the immediate goal is to do everything he can to win the bowl game and recruit "our tail off."

"The fix starts tomorrow," he said.

It's unclear how much house-cleaning Meyer will do. Offensive coordinator Steve Addazio has been under fire all season. His three-quarterback system and hurry-up scheme worked well against Georgia last month but has been inept in losses to South Carolina and Florida State.

The defense hasn't been a whole lot better, though it's been overshadowed by the offense's struggles.

The Seminoles clearly targeted Jenkins, who missed most of the season with an elbow injury. Jenkins got beat on several players early and was eventually benched.

"We did not play well on the back end," Meyer said.

Or anywhere else, really. The biggest question is how long will it take Meyer to get back to the elite level.

"These guys got to learn how to prepare, how to practice," Pouncey said. "We've got to get the right players playing the right positions and then just rebuild this program back to a winning program. ... He's a great coach. He's obviously going to get the right players in and he's going to turn this program around fast."

Meyer: "I can assure you we are going to rebuild this thing and build it up the right way."

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Florida coach Urban Meyer walked into the small interview room at Doak Campbell Stadium, took a seat in front of his captive audience, and immediately addressed the issue on everyone’s mind.

“I can assure you we are going to rebuild this thing and build it up the right way and do it right,’’ Meyer said. “Obviously, we’re down a little bit. I didn’t believe we’d be that far down, but we are.’’

Since taking over the Gators in 2005, Meyer had never walked off the field at the end of a Florida-Florida State game on the losing side – he was 5-0 in head-to-head meetings with former FSU coach Bobby Bowden. That changed early Saturday evening after Florida’s 31-7 loss to the Seminoles capped a 7-5 regular season, the most losses Meyer has endured in any season of his coaching career.

The Gators have an undetermined bowl game left on the schedule, but the real work will come on the recruiting trail the next couple of months.

“Recruit our butt off is what we’re going to do,’’ Meyer said.

After the way Saturday’s game played out, it was difficult to remember that the Gators led 7-3 in the first quarter following quarterback John Brantley’s 20-yard touchdown pass to Robert Clark on Florida’s first drive of the game.

However, Florida’s fortunes soon started to turn for the worse before an announced sellout crowd of 82,324 on a sun-splashed afternoon. Four of the Gators’ next five possessions resulted in turnovers – two fumbles, an interception and a fake-punt attempt that failed.

The first miscue was a fumble by third-string quarterback Jordan Reed that didn’t lead to any points. The Gators weren’t so lucky on their next drive when Chris Rainey fumbled after catching a screen pass from Brantley. Florida State’s Xavier Rhodes recovered at Florida’s 17.

Two plays later, FSU’s Lonnie Pryor scored on a 9-yard run and the Seminoles were on their way to snapping a six-game losing streak against the Gators in Jimbo Fisher’s first season at the helm. The win and a North Carolina State loss to Maryland on Saturday earned the Seminoles a trip to Charlotte next week to face Virginia Tech for the ACC Championship.

“The big thing was Florida,’’ Fisher said. “This is just a topping to a great day for us.’’

The game started to get away from the Gators on the drive following Rainey’s fumble. Down by three, the Gators faced a fourth-and-five from their 36 when punter Chas Henry took off running on a fake-punt attempt. Henry was stopped a short of the first, turning the ball over on downs.

On the very next play, FSU quarterback Christian Ponder hit Rodney Smith for a 39-yard touchdown pass and a 17-7 Seminoles lead.

Later in the second quarter, the Gators fell behind 24-7 when Ponder connected with Taiwan Easterling for a 15-yard score. Ponder finished 16 of 24 for 221 yards and three touchdowns. Meanwhile, Florida rushed for 212 yards but managed only 64 yards passing.

The Gators’ offense showed life on its final drive of the first half behind the running of Reed and Rainey. Starting at the 20, Reed carried three times for 29 yards and Rainey twice for 31, moving to FSU’s 20.

After a timeout, Brantley entered the game but his pass was picked off by Seminoles cornerback Michael Harris, ending the threat.

“It’s been tough,’’ Brantley said. “You never hope for a season like this. Things happen, and we’ve stuck together throughout it all.’’

The mood afterward was one of dejection and reflection for the Gators.

After winning a national title in 2008 and being ranked No. 1 most of the regular season in 2009, the 2010 season has been one of new challenges because of the loss of nine players to the NFL and several key injuries.

After a 4-0 start, the Gators lost five of their final eight games, marking the first time in 22 years they have suffered five losses in the regular season.

“It’s been a battle,’’ Meyer said. “Every day is a battle.’’

Despite the uncharacteristic down season, constant questions about the offense’s struggle to execute and the team’s attitude, the players put up a strong front following Saturday’s disappointing loss.

“This one hurts a lot because it comes at the end,’’ receiver Frankie Hammond said. “Losing a game like this makes you want to go back and watch film and see how you can improve.’’

Senior center Mike Pouncey was in physical and emotional pain. Pouncey was hit in the chest in the second half and left the game. He winced as he took a seat at the podium to answer questions from reporters.

After four years in the program, Pouncey understands the expectations that come along playing for the Gators. He knows five losses in the regular season are unacceptable.

But Pouncey remains proud of the way the Gators remained united amid a turbulent season.

“Through all the (adversity), the team kept fighting,’’ Pouncey said. “They could have easily given up, but everybody kept playing hard. Turnovers killed us this game. You hate losing, but through this whole season, we just kept fighting.’’

As for Meyer’s pledge to quickly return the Gators to among the nation’s elite, Pouncey expects it to happen.

“He’s a great coach and he is obviously going to get the right players in,’’ Pouncey said. “He is going to turn this program around fast.’’

How fast?

“The fix starts tomorrow with recruiting,’’ Meyer said.

WBB Wins Dead River Company Classic with 52-43 Victory over Navy

Azania Stewart was named the Most Outstanding Player and Jordan Jones earned a spot on the All-Tournament Team as the pair led Florida’s team effort in its 52-43 victory over Navy in the Dead River Company Classic championship game on Saturday afternoon at Alfond Arena on the University of Maine campus.

South Alabama defeated Maine, 66-55, in the consolation game.

Stewart totaled 24 rebounds during the two-game event, including a career-high 14 during Saturday’s win, while Jones scored 18 points, with 12 coming from beyond the arc in a pair of low scoring victories. Jones, who also was named to the Preseason WNIT All-Tournament Team, has a 3-pointer in nine consecutive games.

Freshman Jaterra Bonds (Gainesville, Fla.) led the Gators with 11 points on Saturday, as she hit 4-of-8 from the floor for Florida, which struggled with its shot for the third consecutive game by connecting on 32.3 percent (20-62).

In spite of the tough shooting night, UF head coach Amanda Butler was pleased the Gators (5-1) were able to come away with the win and earn the tournament title.

“We did what we came here to do and that was win a championship,” Butler said. “We didn’t anticipate it wasn’t going to be a pretty tournament for us, but at the same time, there were a lot of moments when we could have hung our heads and were pretty deep in a rut but still found a way to get ourselves out. I still feel like we put together two games that were tough. When you can win two basketball games and not play your best, then that makes you optimistic about the future.”

Florida held Navy without a field goal for the final 9:02 of the game, closing out the tight contest on a 13-2 run. The game featured 14 lead changes and seven tied scores.

All five of Florida’s games this season have been decided by 10 points or less and the Gators have won the rebounding battle in every game this season, including a 45-33 margin against Navy, which shot just 30.2 percent during the game and 23.8 percent in the second half.

.

The Gators won the only other meeting in the series against the Midshipmen, 92-67 on Nov. 21, 1981, and was able to win its second Dead River Company Classic championship, as the Gators captured the 2000 title.

Florida didn’t get the energetic start it was hoping to begin the second half, opening with a quick turnover. The Gators recovered with a defensive stand and managed several offensive opportunities before turning the ball over again.

The first scoring for both teams came from the free throw line, with each hitting one.

Jordan Jones followed Jaterra Bond’s free throw with a three-pointer and gave Florida a four-point lead, its largest of the game to that point, but Cassie Consedine answered right back with one for the Mids, who closed within one point, 29-28, three minutes into the second.

Azania Stewart scored the next three points of the game and helped Florida retake its four-point cushion, 32-28, with 13:47.

Florida seemed to lose its composure along the way and foul trouble became an issue for the first time this season. Lanita Bartley (Jacksonville, Fla.) collected her third personal less than two minutes into the second half, and her replacement, Bonds picked up her fourth with 11:02 remaining in the game.

Bartley would later be whistled for her fourth with 7:54 to go.

She had been on the bench since collecting her third, with Bonds running the offense, but when she picked up her fourth, Bartley entered the game and immediately drove the paint and hit a runner that gave the Gators a 36-35 lead.

Navy came right back with four straight points and took a 39-36 lead with just under 10 minutes remaining.

Deana Allen (Houma, La.) then knocked down a three-pointer from the left corner and tied the game at 39-all, but Consedine answered right back with a long shot with 9:02 remaining and gave the Mids a 41-39 lead.

That, however, would be Navy’s last field goal of the game, as Florida ripped off a game-ending 13-2 run the rest of the way to take the victory.

Jones ignited the final 6:40 of the game, nailing her third three-pointer of the contest. After one Navy free throw, Jaterra Bonds followed with a trey of her own and gave the Gators the momentum, as Florida held a 45-42 lead and forced a shot-clock violation on the other end.

Florida wasn’t able to take advantage and Navy was able to knock down a free throw and was within two points with 3:13 on the clock.

Ndidi Madu (Antoich, Tenn.) came back 14 seconds later with a jumper and Allen added one free throw.

Stewart then knocked down a 15-footer at the 1:27 mark and Bartley polished off the game’s scoring with her driving layup with 54 seconds remaining, as the Gators claimed the win and the tournament title.

Bonds finished with a team-high 11 points, while Stewart contributed nine points and a career-high 14 rebounds, with nine coming on the offensive end.

Jones also tallied nine points, all coming from beyond the arc.

Audrey Bauer led all scorers with 13 points, while Angela Myers added 10 for Navy, which shot just 23.8 percent during the second half, when Florida outscored the Mids 27-19.

The first half was extremely close throughout, with the teams seemingly trading scorers almost every trip down the court. The initial 20 minutes featured 10 lead changes and three tied scores.

Navy managed the largest lead, taking a 24-20 advantage with 4:55 remaining in the half. Fortunately for he Gators, the Mids went cold from the floor and didn’t score again in the period, as Floida’s Jaterra Bonds hit a floater in the lane with 4:09 on the clock and Jordan Jones nailed a three-pointer at the 1:34 mark to end the first half scoring and gave the Gators a slim 25-24 halftime lead.

Those points by Bonds and Jones were the only ones the Gators were able to score consecutively during the first half, as Navy managed a 5-0 spurt twice that gave the Mids the lead on both occasions.

Navy also found its way to the free throw, hitting 6-of-10, while Florida didn’t attempt one, but did connect on 5-of-14 three-pointers, with Jones, Bonds and Lanita Bartley knocking down one and Lily Svete going deep twice.

The usually accurate Azania Stewart struggled with her shot during the opening 20 minutes, missing six of her seven attempts. She did, however, collect five rebounds as Florida held a 20-17 edge in the category. Stewart’s off-night contributed to UF’s 31.3 shooting percentage (10-32) during the opening frame, while the Mids were only slightly better at 36.4 percent (8-22).

Navy scored seven points off of seven Florida turnovers, while the Gators were unable to capitalize on any of the Mids miscues.

The Gators next return to action on Tue., Nov. 30, when the team plays host to Old Dominion (3-1) in the O’Connell Center with tip-off schedule for 7 p.m.

Gators Fall to Seminoles, 31-7

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - The University of Florida football team capped its regular season with a 31-7 loss to Florida State in front of 82,324 fans that snapped the Gators’ six-game winning streak in the series and its three-game streak at Doak Campbell Stadium. The Gators led 7-3 early in the second quarter, but were unable to overcome four turnovers as the Seminoles scored 28 unanswered points to take control. Florida’s record dropped to 7-5 on the season and Florida’s record in rivalry games (Tennessee, Georgia, Miami, Florida State) is now 17-2 under head coach Urban Meyer.

Redshirt freshman Andre Debose (Sanford, Fla.) led the Gators with 125 all-purpose yards, including a 62-yard kickoff return that served as the catalyst for Florida’s first quarter touchdown. It is his third game with 125 or more all-purpose yards this season.

The Gators outrushed the Seminoles 212-112, spearheaded by redshirt freshman Jordan Reed (New London, Conn.) who carried the ball 12 times for 74 yards. Redshirt junior Chris Rainey (Lakeland, Fla.) ran for 73 yards, junior Jeffery Demps (Winter Garden, Fla.) chipped in 44 and freshman Trey Burton (Venice, Fla.) added 31 for the Orange and Blue.

Redshirt freshman linebacker Jelani Jenkins (Olney, Md.) led the Florida defense with a game-high nine tackles. It is his fourth game this season with at least eight tackles. Senior defensive end Justin Trattou (Ramsey, N.J.) collected six tackles with two for a loss while senior strong safety Ahmad Black (Lakeland, Fla.) had six tackles and a pass break-up. 

The Gators held Florida State leading rusher Chris Thompson to 42 yards on 17 carries for a 2.5-yard average. He entered the game averaging 7.8 yards a carry.

The Seminoles opened the scoring with a Dustin Hopkins 38-yard field goal on their opening drive. On the ensuing possession, the Gators responded, taking advantage of a 62-yard kickoff return by Debose that set them up at the Florida State 32. Debose’s return was his third this season in excess of 60 yards. Five plays later, redshirt junior quarterback  

John Brantley (Ocala, Fla.) found freshman Robert Clark (Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.) in the right flat on third-and-11 and Clark turned the short completion into a 20-yard touchdown reception, giving the Gators a 7-3 lead. It was Clark’s first career touchdown catch and it was also his longest reception of the season.

Florida State regained the lead by capitalizing on a second quarter fumble by Rainey, who appeared to be on his way to picking up a first down, when he lost the ball at Florida’s 17-yard line. Seminole running back Lonnie Pryor found the endzone two plays later from nine yards out to put FSU in front 10-7.

On the Gators’ next possession, a Jordan Reed 12-yard run was followed by three plays that left them five yards short of a first down. On fourth down, senior punter Chas Henry (Dallas, Ga.) attempted to run for a first down on a fake punt and was stopped a yard shy of the marker. It was the first time in nine fake punt attempts during Urban Meyer’s tenure that the Gators failed to pick up a first down. Christian Ponder hit Rodney Smith for a 39-yard touchdown on the next play from scrimmage, giving the Seminoles a 17-7 edge.

After a Florida three-and-out the following drive, the Seminoles embarked on a 12-play, 73-yard drive that culminated in a 15-yard strike from Ponder to Taiwan Easterling that extended FSU’s lead to 24-7 that completed the first half scoring.

Coming out of intermission, the Florida offense went three-and-out and Florida State put together a 10-play, 71-yard drive that ended with Ponder’s third touchdown pass—a 29-yarder to Willie Haulstead, as the Seminoles went ahead by 24.

Each team had three scoreless possessions to close out the game.