Gators Aim for Fifth Straight Win; Play Southern Illinois in Bahamas Friday
Wednesday, November 26, 2008 | Women's Basketball
The University of Florida women's basketball team enjoyed Thanksgiving Day in Freeport on the Grand Bahama Island, but Friday the Gators' focus returns to the court where the team plays Southern Illinois in the first round of the Junkanoo Jam.
Florida carries a four-game winning streak into the two-day tournament, which also features No. 21/19 Arizona State (2-1) and Hofstra (1-2).
Florida makes its second appearance in the Junkanoo Jam, initially participating in November of 2004, when the Gators took third place after the dropped a tight 65-62 decision to Iowa in the first round but rebounded to down Akron, 77-38, in the consolation win.
The Junkanoo Jam also will be the second time this season when Florida plays games on consecutive days. The Gators actually enter this weekend's action fresh off that experience, as Florida defeated Florida State, 72-57, on Sunday in Tallahassee, before tipping off in Gainesville 27 hours later to earn a 75-55 win against Savannah State.
"We prepared our non-conference schedule with the postseason in mind when you will have a quick turnaround," UF head coach Amanda Butler said. "We want to prepare ourselves for our conference tournament and the NCAA Tournament.
"We found out some things about our team after playing Florida State and Savannah State on back to back days and we weren't as focused or as sharp as we would have liked during the second game," Butler continued. "The Junkanoo Jam will be another opportunity for us to see what we've learned in our preparations for playing on consecutive days. It's going to be great competition and we are really looking forward to playing this weekend."
Whew!
Approximately 36 hours after defeating Savannah State on Monday evening, Florida began its travel to the Junkanoo Jam, boarding a bus at 6 a.m. to drive to Fort Lauderdale to catch their plane flight. Monday's game against the Tigers was the team's fourth in the last eight days.
Random Numbers Entering the Junkanoo Jam
*Sha Brooks has played in 99 games, started 98, including 96 consecutive starts; she has 195 career steals, needing 5 more to become the sixth Gator to collect 200 in her career;
*Marshae Dotson has played in 99 games and has grabbed at least one rebound in every game and has scored in all but one game;
*Jennifer Mossor is 10 points shy of the 400th in her career;
*Sharielle Smith needs 2 points to record the 450th of her career.
Quick Look at the Salukis
Southern Illinois plays away from SIU Arena for the first time this season, having posted wins over Saint Louis (85-77) and Arkansas State (79-76) to start the year. The team's last game was on Nov. 19th, nine days prior to facing the Gators in the first round of the Junkanoo Jam.
Sophomore Katrina Swingler quickly has become the top dog, totaling 44 points and 17 rebounds in the two wins, while hitting 70.4 percent from the field (19-27) and 94.1 percent from the free throw line (16-17). Senior Jasmine Gibson has been the leader on the boards, averaging 9.0 in the two contests, including 15 total in the game against Arkansas State, while scoring 13.0 points per game.
Quick Look at the Sun Devils
Arizona State is ranked No. 21 in this week's AP Poll and No. 19 in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches' Poll. The Sun Devils' lone loss this season was a 70-57 decision on the road to No. 2 Oklahoma in the third round of the Preseason WNIT.
Last year's squad posted a 22-11 overall record, advancing to the second round of the NCAA Championship before falling to Duke, 67-59. Three starters from that squad return this season, including 2008 Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Year Briann January and 2008 Second-Team All-Pac-10 honoree Lauren Lacey. Senior Sybil Dosty began her career at Tennessee, which finished runner-up in 2004 and reached the national semifinals in 2005.
Quick Look at the Pride
Hofstra dropped its first two games of the year, before playing host to Manhattan on Tuesday in the team's home-opener.
Freshman forward/center Joelle Connolly has been a great spark off the bench, contributing a team-best 14.5 points with 9.5 rebounds during the first two games this season. Junior Jess Fuller has been the center of early preseason attention. She was sidelined after just five games last season with a stress fracture, contributing 11.0 points and 6.4 rebounds in those games. The team also is looking to junior point guard Niki Williams, who missed the first two games due to injury, but did appear in Tuesday's game against Manhattan.
Familiar Pride
Hofstra assistant coach Danielle Santos was a four-year letterwinner for the Gators from 2002-06. She played in 107 games during her career, starting 76. She averaged 7.8 points during her tenure, while hitting 78.2 percent from the free throw line and 30.2 percent from the three-point arc. Santos also recorded 265 assists with 162 steals, averaging 27.7 minutes per game. A member of three SEC Academic Honor Rolls, Santos graduated at the end of the 2006 summer with a degree in Sports Management.
First Timers
Southern Illinois is the first of FIVE different opponents Florida will play during the 2008-09 season for the first time in program history. Other series beginning this year are against Coppin State (Dec. 10), Pittsburgh (Dec. 21), Vermont (Dec. 29) and either Miami-Ohio or Towson (Dec. 30).
Junkanoo Jam - Lucaya Division Information
What & When: 2008 Junkanoo Jam - Lucaya Division
Fri., Nov. 28: First Round: Florida vs. Southern Illinois: 12:30 p.m. ET, followed by No. 21/19 Arizona State vs. Hofstra: ~2:45 p.m. ET
Sat., Nov. 29: Consolation: 12:30 p.m. ET; Championship: 2:45 p.m. ET
Where: Freeport, Grand Bahama Island * St. Georges High School
Radio: through internet only
Internet Audio: LIVE thru www.GatorZone.com with Adam Schick (FREE)
Streaming Online Video: LIVE thru http://watchbtihoops.com
Television or Post-Game Satellite Feed: none
-UF-
