Freshman
Christin Mercer (Douglasville, Ga.) notched her first career
double-double, as five Gators scored in double-figures and Florida overwhelmed
the Alabama, 87-54, in the O’Connell Center on Sunday afternoon.
The
Gators (14-9, 3-6 SEC) shot a season-best 58.3 percent (35-60) from the floor
and held a 51-33 rebounding advantage against the Crimson Tide (12-10, 2-7 SEC),
who managed to hit just 25.7 percent of their shots, including a 3-of-23
three-point effort.
“I
think it was a great win for our program in a lot of different ways,” UF head
coach Amanda Butler said. “We had a fantastic crowd, being able to honor
our alumni in the fashion that we have all weekend long. Celebrating and
trying to raise awareness of breast cancer, research and raising money and
being in pink and then obviously getting a very big win, not just winning the
ball game, but winning in a convincing fashion.”
Mercer
led all scorers with a career-best 18 points on 9-of-12 shooting to accompany
her game and career-high 11 rebounds to net her first double-double.
“Christin
really showed a lot of growth in our Georgia game and she was just a lot more
consistently aggressive and made plays and pursued the ball in a way that makes
it not surprising at all that she got 11 rebounds,” Butler said. “We’ve been
challenging her to bring that consistent energy and drive. She’s been
practicing really, really well.”
Junior
guard Jaterra Bonds (Gainesville) chipped in 16 points, while freshman Sydney
Moss (Union, Ky.) added 14 points on 6-of-11 shooting with seven rebounds.
Juniors Lily Svete (Granger, Ind.) and Vicky McIntyre (Omaha,
Neb.) each recorded 12 points as all nine Gators who dressed for the game,
scored and helped snap a five-game losing streak.
“I
was really proud of the bounce back because we have had a lot of reasons to
hang our heads and we’ve had a lot of reasons to accept less,” Butler said. “They
just wouldn’t allow that to happen.”
Playing
in the annual Pinkzone game and in front of more than 30 basketball alumni in
attendance, UF took control early, beginning the game on a 6-1 run forcing an
Alabama timeout. Svete kept things going with a three followed by a layup in
transition by Mercer to give the Gators an 11-1 run just four minutes into the
game.
Alabama
challenged the Gators early, cutting the lead to five with 14:52 to play but
Bonds answered with a jumper and Svete’s three-pointer pushed the lead back to
10. The Crimson Tide stayed within single digits until a layup by Moss with
9:24 gave the Gators an 11-point lead.
Redshirt
sophomore Kayla Lewis (Decatur, Ga.), who finished with six points and
eight rebounds, sparked another Gator run with 4:05 left in the first quarter.
Lewis’ layup started an 11-0 to close out the first half as Alabama went
scoreless for the final 5:24.
It
was all Gators in the first half, using a combination of point scorers led by
Mercer who dropped 10 points before the break.
The
Gators led 43-23 at the break and picked up where they left off to start the
second half, leading by as many as 26 early in the final period. But that
wasn’t enough for the Orange and Blue, who used an 8-0 run to lead by 30, 64-34,
with 12:21 to play, forcing an Alabama timeout.
The
Crimson Tide responded out of the time with a three-pointer from Shafontaye
Myers, but the Gators continued to keep their large lead for the remainder of
the game, enjoying a lead as large as 34 points with 1:28 remaining.
Not
only was UF able to find a variety of point scorers, the Gators played
unselfishly recording 17 assists in the contest including a career-high six
assist from senior forward Jennifer George (Fresno, Calif.) and a game
and career-high eight assists from redshirt freshman Carlie Needles (Highlands
Ranch, Colo.).
“Whatever
Coach Butler did, she did a great job of getting her team ready to play today,
and they came out shooting the basketball well,” Alabama head coach Wendell
Hudson said. “Playing on the other side of that, we did not come out and play
as well as we’ve been playing and in this league, you can’t take a night off.”
