Five Gators scored in double-figures for the first time since 2006 and helped Florida earn a 68-59 victory against Arkansas in the first round of the Southeastern Conference Women’s Basketball Tournament at Bridgestone Arena on Thursday.
In a game intertwined with big runs by both teams, it was the Gators (18-13) who ended the contest scoring the final nine points in the last 2:45 to earn their first SEC Tournament win since 2008 and collect their fourth consecutive overall victory.
Florida raced out to a 17-point lead, before Arkansas rallied and tied the game. The Gators then closed the first period on a 15-5 run and took a 43-33 halftime lead, tacking on two more points before the Razorbacks erased the 12-point Gator advantage and assumed a two-point lead themselves. Florida, however, dug deep and mounted one final run en route to the win.
“We came in with a lot of momentum. I think we played that way in the first half, really seemed like for a while we may just have this game in hand. Arkansas is a great program. (Arkansas Coach Collen) Tom does a great job,” UF head coach Amanda Butler said. “To be able to hold them off, with as many offensive weapons they have, to play the type of defense down the stretch to get the win, I’m really proud of our team and the guts we showed, in particular to make the plays to finish it off.”
Ndid Madu, a native of Antioch, Tenn., located just 10 miles from Nashville, hit a jumper from the free throw line and gave Florida a 45-33 lead to begin the second half’s scoring.
Arkansas (18-11) came right back with the next four points, before Jennifer George (Orlando, Fla.) added a bucket inside that put the Gators back up by 10 points, 47-37, with 14:04 remaining in the game.
That’s when the Razorbacks ripped off a 9-0 run and were within one, 47-46, with 12:20 on the clock.
George again halted the spree, but C’eira Ricketts nailed a three-pointer and tied the game with 10:33 left.
Jaterra Bonds (Gainesville, Fla.), who finished the game with 11 points, traded buckets with Sarah Watkins, before Lanita Bartley (Jacksonville, Fla.) converted a driving layup and Azania Stewart (Wood Green, England) followed with a bucket inside and gave UF a four-point margin with 7:16 to play.
Ricketts again sparked the Razorbacks after coming up with a steal and converting a layup, before Chrisstasia Walter and Watkins scored and had Arkansas in the lead, 57-55, with 4:27 remaining.
Deana Allen (Houma, La.) answered for Florida with a 16-foot pull-up jumper and Bonds sank a driving acrobatic layup for a two-point Gator lead with 3:30 to play.
Ricketts canned a pair of free throws on UA’s next possession and tied the game at 59 with three minutes remaining.
That’s when the Gators put together a game-ending 9-0 march en route to the win, as George tallied five points during the stretch, Allen two and Bonds two from the free throw line.
Also during the final scoring spree, Jordan Jones (Suwanee, Ga.) drew a charge on Ricketts with 2:31 remaining that energized the Gators down the stretch.
Jones finished the game with 11 points which including the 1,000th of her career that came on a three-pointer late in the first half when the Gators hit a sizzling 60.7 percent from the floor to build a 43-33 halftime lead.
“I didn’t realize I did it (score her 1,000th career point) until someone told me after the game, but what really makes it special is that it came in a game that we won,” Jones shared. “We’re just out here trying to gain some respect and we’re taking each game personal.”
Jones also tied her career with six rebounds, while Madu earned her fourth double-double of the season and her career with 12 points and 10 rebounds, hitting 6-of-10 from the floor.
Allen finished with 12 points and six rebounds, while Bartley dished a game-high five assists for Florida which out-rebounded Arkansas 43-30, turning 17 offensive boards into 13 points.
George scored nine of her 12 points in the second half, when Florida shot just 32.3 percent from the floor, but also held the Razorbacks to a similar mark.
Lyndsay Harris scored a game-high 18 points, hitting 6-of-9 three-pointers, while Quistelle Williams tallied 13 off the bench for Arkansas.
Florida next plays top-seeded and fourth-ranked Tennessee (28-2) in the quarterfinals on Friday at 1 p.m. ET (Noon CT). The game will be televised by FSN (SportsSouth, FS Southwest, SUN Sports), with streaming video available thru www.ESPN3.com. The radio broadcast airs live in Gainesville on WBXY-FM 99.5 and through the internet at www.GatorZone.com, the official website of the Florida Gators.
The Gators lost both regular-season meetings against the Lady Vols this season, dropping the 83-40 decision in Gainesville on January 13 and the 61-39 outing in Knoxville on February 10. Tennessee is a commanding 42-3 all-time against Florida, including a 7-0 in SEC Tournament action.
Florida ripped out of the gate and nailed its first eight field goals of Thursday’s game, including a pair of three-pointers from Jones, and took an 18-7 start in the first 4:39 of the contest.
The teams exchanged buckets to begin the game, with Arkansas getting on the board first, before Madu followed with the first of her three jumpers during that opening spurt. Deana Allen nailed a deep shot and gave UF its first lead, before Sarah Watkins tied the score but an inside bucket.
Madu then nailed her second 15-footer and ignited a 12-0 run that included four points from Madu, six from Jones and a pair from Allen.
Chrisstasia Walter stopped the Gator’s spree with a three-pointer, but Florida came right back with the next seven points, as Jennifer George tallied three, Jones two and Madu two off an offensive put back after UF’s inevitable first missed shot of the game came with 13:25, as the Gators assumed a 23-7 lead.
“I think that was that first 12 minutes or so, it was probably the best basketball we played,” Butler said. “I don't know that we relaxed or what happened, but we just kind of went away from what was working. That's one of the things, we just got to be aware of. I think that's an awareness level thing. This is what's working, this is where our momentum is coming, keeping your foot on the pedal in that direction.
“It's a little bit of a problem that we've had,” Butler continued. “But the difference now, as opposed to before, is we're correcting it and we're holding on, making plays down the stretch.”
The teams traded buckets for the next three-plus minutes and with Florida holding a 28-11 advantage, Arkansas ripped off a 17-0 run and tied the score at 28-all with 6:07 remaining, the final points coming when Bartley tweaked her left knee, went down and Walter scooped up the loose ball and converted the layin.
Florida regrouped and staged an 8-0 run with four points from Azania Stewart and four from Allen.
Ashley Daniels stopped UF’s spurt, before Jones nailed her third three-pointer of the half, which fitting was the sharp-shooting junior’s 1,000th career point. That milestone bucket gave the Gators a 41-30 lead with 1:47 to play in the period.
Arkansas sank its sixth trey of the half, before Bonds ended the half’s scoring with a bucket and gave Florida a 43-33 halftime advantage.
Jones recorded 11 points during the first 20 minutes of action, while Madu contributed 10 with seven rebounds, helping Florida to a 17-13 edge of the boards. Madu also connected on all five of her field goal attempts, as the Gators shot a sizzling 60.7 percent (17-28) from the floor.
Arkansas, paced by Lyndsay Harris’ 12 points on 4-of-7 three-pointers, hit 43.3 percent in the first half, including 6-of-14 from beyond the arc.
