Florida Gators

SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- They showed it during an early-season win over Florida State. They showed it in a rare win at Tennessee. They showed it in back-to-back victories to close the regular season, earning the fourth seed in the SEC Tournament.

The Gators played their best when they flashed an edge, a willingness to get down and dirty and force opponents to sweat.

That sharp focus disappeared in Jacksonville two weeks ago when the Gators got thumped by Kentucky by 23 points. The game turned when the Wildcats unleashed 33 points in the second quarter and never looked back.

The Gators (22-8) were forced to play the waiting game. Instead of a deep run in the conference tournament, they returned home to await their fate in the NCAA Tournament. They received word Monday night: Florida faces American East Conference champion UAlbany (27-4) on Friday afternoon here at the Carrier Dome.

With more than a week to prepare, Coach Amanda Butler took her team back to the boxing ring. Say what? Hey, it seemed to work a few months ago.

"We really did try to recapture our edge,'' Butler said following her press conference Thursday. "That was kind of what our whole thing was [during the layoff]. We can't just go into this like it is just a continuation of our season. It's a brand-new season. Let's talk about who we want to be in this new season."

If you are intrigued by Florida's boxing strategy the way the media were at Thursday's press conference, the unconventional ploy was first used prior to the season. Following a lackluster practice, first-year assistant coach Bill Ferrara suggested boxing training to toughen up a team coming off a 13-17 season.

Butler approved. The players bought in.
 

"We did Floyd Mayweather workouts,'' junior forward Ronni Williams quipped Thursday.

Florida lost its opener at Temple, then reeled off 12 consecutive wins to serve notice this year's Gators were not last year's Gators. Now, they want to prove the team that lost 92-69 to Kentucky on March 4 was an imposter.

"It hit us hard after the loss,'' junior guard Simone Westbrook said. "We dwelled on it but as soon as we touched back in Gainesville it was back to business."

To advance to Sunday's second round and face the Syracuse-Army winner, the Gators must get by a UAlbany program that has won five consecutive conference titles. The Great Danes, a No. 12 seed, nearly upset Duke in the first round of last year's tournament, losing a four-point lead in the final two minutes.

UAlbany is back in March Madness behind three-time American East Conference Player of the Year Shareersha Richards, a 6-foot-1 senior averaging 23.7 points and 8.5 rebounds a game.

As soon as the matchup with UAlbany was announced, Butler recalled watching the Great Danes' loss to Duke a year ago. She knew the challenge Florida faced in Richards.

"She is very special. I love her motor and the effort she plays with," Butler said. "I think it inspires her team. And then when you start to look at what she does statistically, it's incredible. She is a smaller version of their team. She does what she does very well. She doesn't deviate from that. She doesn't play outside her skill-set or what she is supposed to do for her team."

While Richards is the headliner, the Great Danes force the action with a pressure defense that caught the Gators' attention on tape. They also are expected to have plenty of support. The UAlbany campus is about a two-hour drive from the Carrier Dome.

Much of Florida's preparation has focused on ways to handle the Great Danes' pressure. Senior guard Carlie Needles is confident the Gators have answers.

"We know they have a championship-type program,'' Needles said. "We know it's going to be a battle. But we're here to win just as much as they are, so we're going to play like that."

The Gators have an advantage in speed, which can help neutralize pressure on the ball.

In conference play the Gators faced similar styles, including Auburn. Florida lost at Auburn in mid-February by 22. However, the Gators closed the regular season with a 56-49 home win over the Tigers, adjusting their game plan from the previous meeting.

UAlbany coach Katie Abrahamson-Henderson, a former Georgia player, has revitalized a program that was stagnant prior to her arrival. This is UAlbany's first meeting with Florida, but they have a common opponent in Tennessee. The Great Danes lost 63-55 in Knoxville on Nov. 27.

Abrahamson-Henderson expects that experience to help in Friday's matchup with the Gators, who remind her some of the Lady Volunteers.

"What stands out to me is that they are going to crash the boards hard," she told the Albany Times-Union. "Most teams don't crash the boards against us, they run back so we don't get transition. We have to box out. They remind me a lot of USC and Tennessee."

Added Butler: "Those kids are going to have no fear of playing an SEC team. They went to Tennessee and almost beat Tennessee. They went to USC [Southern Cal] and almost beat USC. They are confident and they are good at what they do."

What Butler wants to see most is the Gators do what they do best: play tough, play competitive, and play with an edge.

That was why they returned to the boxing ring.

"It's far outside a basketball player's comfort zone,'' Butler said. "We wanted to be ready for this new season with that edge we came into the regular season with."

If they don't, their stay in this tournament could be as short as their last.