The Gator women’s basketball team used stifling defense, which
held Alabama to 24.6 percent shooting from the field, and a monster performance
from junior Jennifer George (Orlando, Fla.) to down the Crimson Tide,
61-37, Thursday evening at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center.
The Orange and Blue defense was the difference maker in the game
as UF held Alabama (10-10, 0-6 SEC) to 25 percent shooting in the first half
and 24.2 percent shooting in the second half. Additionally, the Gators forced
18 turnovers which led to 22 points. The offense was also efficient on the
evening as the Gators recorded 19 assists on their 25 made field goals.
George led the way for the Gators with an impressive 15-point,
12-rebound, five-block performance, tallying her 11th double-double of the year
and 15th of her career. George, who hit 5-of-6 shots in the second half and
7-of-16 for the game, wasn’t alone in her strong individual performance, as
five additional Gators scored seven or more points led by senior Azania
Stewart (Wood Green, England), who chipped in eight points, 10 boards and
four blocked shots, and senior Jordan Jones (Suwanee, Ga.), who had
seven points, a career-high-tying seven rebounds and five assists. Senior Lanita
Bartley (Jacksonville, Fla.) dished a season-high seven assists while
collecting a game-high five steals.
“I’m really proud of the maturity I think we displayed tonight for
a lot of different reasons,” UF head coach Amanda Butler said. “The talk
and the questions we kept getting were about how do you play against Alabama
after such a big win versus LSU – I think we really showed our senior
leadership, in particular, and just our composure from game to game. We had
great execution of the game plan.”
The
Gators missed their first nine shots and began the game hitting just 12.5%
(2-16) from the floor during the opening 7:39 minutes, yet trailed only 7-6
with 12:33 on the clock, as the Tide didn’t connect any easier, converting 20
percent on 3-of-15
Stewart
sank her second shot in as many tries as one of the few Gators who were sharp
from the get-go, connecting on a jumper inside that gave Florida a 8-7 lead
with 12:21 on the clock.
Krya
Crosby, who was equally as sharp for her team and finished with a Tide-best 14
points, tallied her third field goal in as many attempts and put Alabama back
on top, before Jasmine Robinson followed with a jumper that had the Tide up
three, 11-8, with 11:13 on the clock.
On
Florida’s next offensive possession, Jordan Jones nailed a 25-foot
three-pointer as the shot clock expired and tied the game at 11 with 10:39
remaining.
The
Gators forced a stop and Deana Allen added a 12-footer before Bartley collected
a steal off the Tide in-bounds play. Bartley passed to Allen, who found Jaterra
Bonds (Gainesville, Fla.) on the wing where she knocked down her 15th
three-pointer of the season that gave Florida a 16-11 lead with 9:18 to go.
Florida
continued its defensive pressure and Barley came up with another steal, which
she took the length of the court for a layup and an 18-11 Gator advantage.
Bartley
again came away with another steal, but the Gators couldn’t capitalize. Alabama
missed an inside jumper and George collected the miss, but again Florida came
away empty, committing its third turnover of the contest.
Florida
held firm defensively and limited the Tide to one shot attempt on their next
possession. The Gators also missed their try and Alabama game away with a layup
from Meghan Perkins, who ended Florida’s 10-0 run.
Florida
continued its scoring spurt with one free throw from George and an long jumper
from Jones, who tacked on another running jumper and extended the march to 15-2
over a 4:24 span, as Florida took a 23-13 lead with 6:15 remaining.
After
a Florida forced a shot clock violation, Jones collected an offensive rebound
and Bonds sank a driving layup as the Gator’s shot clock expired and continued
the run, 25-13
Lily
Svete
(Granger, Ind.) came off the bench and added a three-pointer from the top of
the arc and Florida kept the momentum.
Deana
Allen
(Houma, La.) added to the long-range barrage by connecting from beyond the arc
with 3:50 remaining that gave Florida a 31-13 lead and forced Alabama to call a
timeout, as the Tide tried to find a way to stop the Gator’s 23-2 run that
spread over a 6:49 span.
Celiscia
Farmer ended the long march after Jessica Merritt collected a long defensive
rebound and dished off to Farmer, who converted the layup at the 2:37 mark, as
Florida held a 31-15 lead.
George,
who finished the first half with five points, nine rebounds and three blocked
shots, came back with her second field goal of the contest for her fifth point,
before Alabama came right back with a bucket inside with 47 seconds remaining
to end the first half scoring with the Gators taking a 33-17 lead.
Florida
recovered to sink 31 percent (13-42) of its shots and held a 28-27 rebounding
edge after the first 20 minutes. The Gators turned the ball over just four
times and forced 12 Alabama turnovers that they converted into 16 points.
The Gators (13-6, 3-3 SEC) didn’t let up to begin the second half
as they scored six of the first eight points, pushing their lead to 20 and
forcing Alabama into another timeout. From there, the Gators used hot shooting,
connecting on 12-of-21 shots in the second half to cruise to the victory.
George and Ndidi Madu (Antioch, Tenn.) were keys to the second-half
performance, scoring 18 of UF’s 28 points on a combined 9-of-11
shooting.
