Gators Open SEC Play Against Kentucky on Thursday in Lexington
Thursday, January 10, 2008 | Women's Basketball
The Gators travel to Lexington to play Kentucky in both teams' Southeastern Conference opener.
Game Day Gator Tales
Florida is coming off an impressive and emotional 68-54 victory against Temple on Saturday afternoon. The win was the team's first road victory in four tries. UF now aims to win consecutive road games for the first time since the 2005-06 season, when the Gators downed Kentucky on February 5th before knocking off Mississippi State on February 9th in Starkville.
Saturday's victory was extra special because of the heavy heart the team carried for head coach Amanda Butler, who was with her grandmother, “MeeMaw,” several hours before she passed away late Saturday night.
Coach Butler re-joined the team on Wednesday in Lexington and be on the sideline for Thursday's game.
Keep it Going Gators!
Florida enters Thursday's game at Kentucky riding a seven-game winning streak, the team's longest since the 2005-06 season, when the Gators won 11 in a row, the second-longest win streak in program history.
An eight-game win streak would tie for the seventh-longest in program history.
SEC Opening Day
Florida holds a 12-13 all-time record in SEC openers, including a 4-9 mark on away courts.
The Gators dropped last year's conference debut to Georgia in Athens, 89-57, the worst SEC opening-day loss in program history. That setback snapped a two-game opening-day win streak, which included the Gator's 68-56 win at Arkansas that launched the 2004-05 league campaign - the last time UF opened with an SEC road victory.
The Florida-Kentucky Series
Florida holds a 21-18 advantage in its series against Kentucky. The teams are even at 9-all in games played in Lexington.
The Gators and Wildcats met twice last season, with each winning on their respective home courts. Florida upset Kentucky, 83-79, in the regular-season finale that snapped a two-game slide against the Kats.
The Gator's last win in Lexington was a 68-61 decision on February 5, 2006.
Pre-Season Picks
The SEC coaches selected Florida to finish 11th in the 12-team league standings during the preseason vote, while Kentucky was picked to place sixth.
The media poll was identical to the coaches' poll, with one change: picking the Gators to finish 10th and South Carolina to place 11th.
Familiar Face
Kentucky head coach Matthew Mitchell was an assistant coach at Florida for three years (2000-03), serving under former head coaches Carol Ross and Carolyn Peck. The Gators were 51-36 during his three-year stay in Gainesville.
Scouting Kentucky
Kentucky played host to and defeated Wofford, 67-57, on Monday evening in the team's final non-conference game. Four of the team's six wins entering Monday's game have come on the Wildcat's home floor, where the team is 4-4 overall, with a 4-2 mark in Memorial Coliseum (the other two games were played in Rupp Arena). Two of the home losses were against Louisville and Xavier, teams Florida also faced during its non-conference slate, with the Gators splitting decisions. UK's three additional losses have been against nationally-ranked foes, as the Wildcats have dropped decisions to George Washington, Texas and Old Dominion.
Wildcat Watch
Seniors Samantha Mahoney and Sarah Elliott pace Kentucky's offensive attack, averaging 14.4 and 12.3 points per game, respectively. Elliott, a 6-foot-6 center, leads the Wildcats in the paint, collecting 7.0 rebounds per game while hitting 52.4 percent from the floor.
The Wildcats have sorely missed the presence of junior point guard Carly Ormerod, who played in the first eight games of the year before a injury to her left foot placed her on the bench. She is listed as doubtful for Thursday's game. UK is just 2-4 without Ormerod on the floor this year.
Injuries also kept red-shirt junior Eleia Roddy off the court, where she missed the entire 2006-07 season and the first 12 games of 2007-08. The 6-3 forward/center made her debut against Xavier on January 1st, when she collected five rebounds in just seven minutes of work and earned a starting nod against Wofford.
Hoping the Second Time's the Charm
Thursday's game marks Florida's second trip to the Bluegrass State this season. The Gators didn't fair well in their previous outing to the nation's 15th state, dropping a 79-62 decision at Louisville on December 2nd.
Overall, Florida sports a 10-12 record when playing in the state of Kentucky.
Rested and Ready
The holiday break couldn't have come at a better time for the Gators, whose roster was so depleted during its last game before the break - December 22nd vs. Saint Louis - that only eight scholarship players could suit up. In the first practice following the break, 11 scholarship Gators (plus walk-on Jordan Parker) were on the court and participated in practice!
Rested, Ready and Rolling!
In the four games following the holiday break, Florida has posted four wins, all by at least 13 points, while carrying a +17.3 average margin of victory, a +11.3 averaging rebounding edge and committing “only” 15.5 turnovers per game (compared with the overall average of 21.3).
Individually during those four games, Depree Bowden, Marshae Dotson and Sha Brooks are contributing their average offensive points, but Sharielle Smith returned with a renewed drive, contributing 11.5 points and 6.8 rebounds per game, while hitting 48.5 percent from the floor which includes a 5-of-11 effort from behind the arc. In the paint, Aneika Henry is collecting 7.8 rebounds per game, thanks in part to her career-high 15 boards versus FAMU on January 2nd.
Gator Watch
During the preseason, Florida's 'Big 3' were expected to produce big things ... and they have not disappointed. The trio of Depree Bowden, Marshae Dotson and Sha Brooks combined for 605 of UF's 1055 points (57.3%), 253 of 635 rebounds (39.8%), 109 of 214 assists (50.9%) and 92 of 159 steals (57.9%) this season.
Depree Bowden, the lone senior on the 2007-08 squad, has picked up where she left off last season, contributing a team-leading 14.8 points and 2.5 steals, along with 5.2 rebounds and 2.5 assists, while shooting 38.1 percent (32-84) from the three-point arc.
Junior Marshae Dotson has been the undersized work-horse in the paint again this season! The 5-11 forward, who tallies 14.6 points and 8.8 rebounds, has five double-doubles this year, with the most recent a 26 point-10 rebound performance against Alabama A&M (Dec. 29) in the championship game of the State Farm Classic, as she matched her career-high point total en route to being named tournament MVP.
Junior Sha Brooks continues to be a steady contributor, averaging 10.9 points, but has emerged as more of a complete player, tallying a team-best 2.9 assists with 1.9 steals, and plays a team-long 31.5 minutes per game.
Game Day Information
What: Game 16: Florida at Kentucky
When: Thursday, January 10, 2008 * 7 p.m., ET
Where: Lexington, Ky. * Memorial Coliseum (7,500)
Radio: LIVE on WRUF AM850 in Gainesville - audio simulcast on Cox Channel 96 with Steve Babik & Steve Russell
Internet Audio: LIVE thru GatorZone.com (FREE of charge)
GatorVision Online: none
Television: none
Post-Game Satellite Feed: none
END OF REPORT
