Junior center Aneika Henry (Coconut Grove, Fla.) grabbed a career-high 15 rebounds and blocked a personal-best six shots to lead a defensive charge that sparked the University of Florida women's basketball team to a 71-51 win over Florida A&M at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center on Wednesday evening.
Henry's 15 boards led a Florida (10-4) effort that hauled in a season-high 55 in the contest and won the rebounding battle by a 55-34 margin. She was also a force in the middle, blocking six of the Gators' season-high seven shots. The Gators also forced 21 turnovers and limited FAMU (9-2) to just 32.5 percent (20-61) shooting from the field on the night.
The Gators' +21 rebounding margin was its largest since Dec. 14, 2003, when they out-rebounded UC-Santa Barbara by a spread of 25 boards.
“When you dominate a category as important as rebounding, it's a good indication that you were the more aggressive team,” Florida head coach Amanda Butler said. “In the first half, shots weren't falling, but we were chasing them down and giving ourselves second-chance opportunities.
“When Aneika cleans the glass and owns the paint like that, it allows us to be more aggressive on the perimeter," Butler continued. "I'm proud of the fact that not only was this a team-win, but we also had individuals step up and play great games.”
Senior Depree Bowden (Palmetto, Fla.) led the scoring attack with a season-high 24 points – four shy of her career high – that featured a 6-of-11 clip from behind the three-point arc. Sophomore forward Sharielle Smith (Bradenton, Fla.) chipped in with a career high-tying 14 points to reach double figures for the third consecutive game, while sophomore guard Brittaney Thomas (Montgomery, Ala.) went for 10 to give UF three players in double digits.
Junior guard Sha Brooks (Jackson, Tenn.) directed Florida's offense to the tune of a game-high six assists, while also adding three steals.
The victory gave UF 10 wins on the season, eclipsing its win total from the entire 2006-07 campaign, when it posted a 9-22 record. It also marked the 50th head coaching win of Butler's career, as the first-year Florida leader has compiled a 50-26 ledger in just over two seasons on the sidelines.
The Gators reeled off the first 11 points of the second half, powered by six from sophomore guard Lonnika Thompson (New Orleans, La.), to open up a quick 40-25 lead. Florida's lead dipped to 10 points on two occasions near the midway point of the half, but Bowden answered both times with a three-point field goal to help the Orange and Blue maintain a double-digit lead for the remainder of the game en route to their sixth consecutive victory.
UF entered the locker room with a 29-25 halftime lead after forcing Florida A&M to shoot just 30.3 percent from the field, while also out-rebounding the Lady Rattlers by a count of 33-19, in the opening frame. Henry pulled down 10 rebounds, equaling her single-game career high, and swatted three shots in the first half to lead the defensive effort.
Down 11-7 with just over 12 minutes left in the first half, the Gators embarked on an 11-0 run, during which Bowden poured in nine of her dozen first-half points, to grab an 18-11 advantage. FAMU narrowed the gap to two at 23-21, but six-straight Florida points moved the lead back to eight, 29-21, before the Lady Rattlers collected the final four points of the frame.
Junior guard Stephanie Foster led FAMU with 16 points on 7-of-18 shooting, while senior guard Q'Vaunda Curry and junior forward Denise Tate shared the team lead with seven rebounds apiece. Junior guard Evette Young dished out five assists to pace the Lady Rattlers.
“It was our first game since the break and we were not in sync," said FAMU coach Debra Clark, whose team was playing its first game in 16 days. "It was not a good game for us. Florida was much bigger and seemed more comfortable on the court.
“Florida's size was significantly bigger than any of our opponents so far this season," Clark continued. "However, we did not do what we were capable of to gain an advantage. We didn't do what we needed as far as blocking out or getting on the inside to give our team a chance.”
The Gators next hit the road for their final non-conference test of the season, venturing to Philadelphia to take on Temple at 2 p.m. on Saturday. Cox Sports will televise the action, and the radio call can be heard in Gainesville on WRUF-AM 850 and through www.GatorZone.com, the official website of the Florida Gators.
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