Gators Aim for Seventh Straight Win; Play at UAB Wednesday
Tuesday, December 2, 2008 | Women's Basketball
Florida continues its four-game road trip on Wednesday, traveling to Birmingham, Ala., where the Gators play UAB in Bartow Arena with tip-off scheduled for 6:30 p.m. ET (5:30 p.m. CT).
The Gators (6-1), who have won six consecutive games entering Wednesday's contest, face an inexperienced Blazer's squad that is coming off a 56-53 win over McNeese State that snapped a four-game skid.
Senior guard Britney Jones headlines the Blazer's roster, averaging 15.2 points, while recording a team-best 22 assists and 13 steals in six games. Sophomore Amanda Peterson is blazing from the 3-point arc, where she is hitting 44.2 percent (19-43), while contributing 12.5 points along with 4.8 rebounds. Junior College transfer Tamika Dukes, a 6-foot forward, leads UAB (2-4) with 8 rebounds per game, tallying 8.5 points per game.
"UAB is a very dangerous team and their record does not reflect their how good they are," UF head coach Amanda Butler said. "They lost a lot of key players off of last year's squad, but they are in no way young. They have a lot of players who just haven't had has much game minutes under their belt. As the season progresses, that will change. They are becoming more confident and I have seen that from watching film on them from their first game until their most recent game. Anytime you're on someone else's home court, you have to expect their best, especially with an SEC team coming to their home floor."
Florida counters with a seasoned crew, but does not start a player taller than 5-foot-11. Senior guard Sha Brooks had another big outing last week, when she helped the Gators win three more games, capped by Saturday's impressive 65-60 victory over No. 21/19 Arizona State in the championship game of the Junkanoo Jam, held in the Bahamas. Brooks was named MVP of the tournament, as she scored a season- and game-high 25 points in the championship game, which included two free throws with seven seconds remaining to seal the upset victory.
Brooks, who averages a team-best 13.1 points per game, has played in 101 career games, starting 100 of those, including 98 consecutive. She enters Wednesday's game with 199 career steals, needing one more to become the sixth Gator to collect 200 in her career.
Forwards Marshae Dotson and Sharielle Smith contribute 11.7 and 11.1 points per game, respectively, while leading the Gators' effort on the boards with 8.0 and 6.4 rebounds per outing.
Florida leads the all-time series against UAB, 2-0. The last meeting, however, occurred on Dec. 17, 1983, when not one current member of the Gator squad had been born. The Yellowhammer State has not been kind to Florida, which sports just an 11-28 all-time when playing a game in the state of Alabama.
Florida is limiting its opponents to a 34.1 percent shooting accuracy this season and has won the rebounding battle in six of its seven games, including each of its first six. The only time the Gators dropped the board battle was against Arizona State, which held the 33-32 edge.
Entering Wednesday's game against UAB, the Gator offense is lighting up the scoreboard for 74.48 points per game, while shooting 48.4 percent from the field - the top percentage among all SEC teams this season.
Game Day Information
What: Game 8: Florida (6-1) at UAB (2-4)
When: Wednesday, December 3, 2008 * 6:30 p.m. ET (5:30 p.m. CT)
Where: Birmingham, Ala. * Bartow Arena (8,500)
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
-UF-
