Junior Steffi Sorensen (Jacksonville, Fla.) scored a career-high 14 points and Florida's bench contributed 25 points in Florida's 67-56 win over Southern Illinois on Friday in the first round of the Junkanoo Jam held at St. Georges High School.
The Gators won their fifth consecutive and advanced to the championship game, where they face No. 21 (AP)/19 Arizona State on Saturday at 2:45 p.m. ET. The Sun Devils defeated Hofstra, 80-55, in their opening-round contest.
The game was tied 31-all at halftime, when Sorensen's quick three-pointer opened the second half. Marshae Dotson (Columbus, Ohio) then put back an offensive rebound and Florida held a 36-31 lead just over a minute into the period.
Southern Illinois (2-1) continued to scrap and never let down, answering right back with the next five points of the game to even the score at 38-all.
Trumae Lucas (Greensboro, N.C.) hit a long jumper and Ndidi Madu (Antioch, Tenn.) followed with a short jumper under the bucket, as the pair kept Florida in the lead and added to the Gators' 25 bench points it tallied during the game.
After the Salukies hit one field goal, Florida responded with a 10-2 spurt and assumed a 52-42 lead with 8:46 remaining. The teams traded scores on consecutive possessions and with the Gators' holding a 54-46 advantage, Sorensen canned her third trey of the game, this one from the top, left of the arc, to spark a 7-0 run, with Azania Stewart (Wood Green, England) and Sharielle Smith (Bradenton, Fla.) chipping in offensively, and Florida took a commanding 61-46 lead with four minutes to play en route to the victory.
Smith joined Sorensen as the only other Gator in double-figure scoring, contributing 12 points along with a game-high eight rebounds, hitting 4-of-5 from the field and all four of her attempts from the free throw line, where she improved to 21-of-22 from the charity stripe this season.
Eleven of the 12 Gators who entered the game scored, as Florida's bench out-scored Southern Illinois', 25-6. The Gators also shot more accurately from the field during the final 20 minutes, when they hit 45.2 percent (14-31) compared with their 36.7 percent mark (11-30) in the first half, when they committed 13 of their 16 turnovers during the contest.
“In the second half, our bench was crucial,” UF head coach Amanda Butler said. “The first five we put out on the floor didn't start the second half the way we wanted so we replaced them with five new players and they responded with great energy and intensity. We knew our depth could be the difference in this game and our bench really stepped up.”
Dotson and Sha Brooks (Jackson, Tenn.), two of Florida's top three scorers entering the game, were hampered by foul trouble and never quite found their stride, but the Gators never missed a beat, as Stewart came off the pine to score five points with five rebounds and Susan Yenser (Marietta, Ga.) recorded five points, three boards and made an impact defensively.
“It's a comfort to know that Sha and Marshae don't have to carry the offensive load for us every game,” Butler said. “Azania really responded to our challenge at halftime to be tougher. She played with greater intensity and made a big difference for us in the second half.”
Jasmine Gibson scored 16 points to lead three Salukies in double-figure scoring for the first-ever meeting against the Gators, who held a 42-32 rebounding edge and forced 20 turnovers.
Florida was its own worst enemy in the first half, committing 13 turnovers that the Salukies converted into 11 points. The Gators had two primary runs in the opening half, but Southern Illinois answered both and never allowed Florida to pull away.
The Gators led by seven points four-and-a-half minutes into the contest, but SIU rallied to tie the game by scored seven straight points of its own as part of a 13-3 run that actually gave the Salukies a three-point advantage, 17-14, its largest of the game.
Florida countered with its own 15-6 spree to take a six-point edge with 3:44 left in the half, but again SIU matched the run to tie the game entering the break.
“After those first few minutes, we played flat,” Sorensen said. “We watched Arizona State play Hofstra and know after watching them that we can't afford to play like we did today. We have to be focused and intense for all 40 minutes because Arizona State is an extremely good team and we will have to bring everything we can to the court tomorrow.”
Post Game Notes:
*Sha Brooks and Marshae Dotson were playing in 100th game of their respective careers.
*Dotson has grabbed at least one rebound in each of the 100 games she has played and has scored in 99, including in each of the last 71.
*Brooks started the 99th game of her career and earned her 97th consecutive starting assignment.
*Brooks had two steals against Southern Illinois and upped her career total to 197, needing three more to become the sixth Gator to collect 200 in a career.
*Jennifer Mossor had five points against Southern Illinois, ending the game with 395 in her career.
*Sharielle Smith scored the 450th point of her career during the win against the Salukies.
*Florida has out-rebounded each of its six opponents this season.
*Florida will be aiming to win a tournament that it has not hosted for the first time since Nov. 19, 2005, when the Gators captured the Seton Hall Basketball Classic after victories against St. Francis (NY) and Seton Hall.
*Saturday's game against Arizona will be Florida's second against a nationally-ranked this week, as the Gators defeated then-No. 22/21 Florida State, 72-57, on Sun., Nov. 23
*Florida is 54-153 all-time against nationally-ranked opponents, including a 9-24 record on a neutral court. The Gators' last win versus a top-25 ranked team on a neutral court was on Nov. 22, 1998, when Florida defeated then-No. 13 George Washington, 82-58, in Boston, Mass.
*Florida's last two games prior to the Junkanoo Jam also were played on consecutive days, when the Gators 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.
Junkanoo Jam - Lucaya Division Information
Who: Florida (5-1) vs. No. 21/19 Arizona State (3-1)
What: 2008 Junkanoo Jam - Lucaya Division Championship Game
When: Sat., Nov. 29 at 2:45 p.m. ET
Where: Freeport, Grand Bahamas Island * St. Georges High School
Radio: through internet only at www.GatorZone.com
Internet Audio: LIVE thru www.GatorZone.com with Adam Schick (FREE)
GatorVision Streaming Online Video: LIVE thru www.GatorZone.com
Television or Post-Game Satellite Feed: none
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