Florida Travels to Raleigh for Sunday Game against N.C. State
Saturday, December 6, 2008 | Women's Basketball
The University of Florida women's basketball team returns to the court on Sunday afternoon, when the Gators hit the hardwood to play their fourth and final game during a long 10-day road trip that has been played in three different locations. Florida takes on N.C. State in Reynolds Coliseum beginning at 2 p.m. ET, aiming to extend their current seven-game win streak.
“It's going to be a tremendous challenge for us to be playing an ACC team, in Raleigh against Kay Yow, who I regard as one of the greatest coaches ever,” UF head coach Amanda Butler said. “It's a fantastic opportunity and a great challenge to play and win.”
Gator senior Sha Brooks has stepped up her game in the last five contests, averaging 16.2 points, while hitting 42.1 percent from the three-point arc (8-of-19) and 84 percent from the free throw line (21-of-25). Overall, Brooks is contributing a team-leading 13.0 points and enters Sunday's game having started 99 consecutive during her career.
Forwards Marshae Dotson and Sharielle Smith have been holding their own in the paint despite being under-sized in each outing, as neither stand even 6-feet tall. Dotson tallies 11.8 points with 7.9 rebounds, with Smith chipping in 10.6 points and 6.3 rebounds while hitting 60.4 percent from the floor.
All three played in last year's game against N.C. State, which holds a 2-1 lead in the three-game series, including last year's 80-55 blowout by the Wolfpack that ended Florida's season in the WNIT Round of 16. During that game, Shayla Fields scorched the Gators with a then-career-high 31 points on 10-of-14 shooting. Khadijah Whittington, now graduated, controlled the boards with a game-high 17 rebounds, while adding 13 points. Nikitta Gartrell and Amber White also contributed 10 points each.
“What I remember most about last year's game was that it was very disappointing because we didn't play our style and we didn't play with our fight or tenacity,” Butler said. “They took it to us and we didn't really put up much of a fight outside of the first five or six minutes of the game. They played like a team on a mission and we played like a team that was ready for our season to end. We definitely need to take this opportunity to redeem ourselves.”
Florida is the second of four schools from the SEC that N.C. State will play during the regular-season. The Wolfpack dropped a 66-51 decision to Auburn on Nov. 29 in the championship game of the FIU Thanksgiving Tournament in Miami. NCSU's next game is a home date against Ole Miss (Dec. 14), while capping its slate versus the SEC on Jan. 4 at home against South Carolina. The Wolfpack sport a perfect 3-0 home record on “Kay Yow Court” this season, after logging an impressive 9-1 mark against non-conference teams last year in Reynolds Coliseum.
The Gators have seen first-hand the offensive power of senior guard Shayla Fields, who has continued that scoring pace this season, averaging 17.8 points per game, hitting double-figures in all except two games. Junior guard Nikitta Gartrell is the only other Wolfpack who averages a double-figure scoring effort, adding 12.4 points in addition to providing 34 assists through the team's first eight games.
“There is one big piece of their team from last year missing in Khadijah Whittington, and that's significant, however, their guards are all returners and are their top three shot-takers and top two scorers,” Butler said. “Shayla Fields and Nikitta Gartrell are two of the best in the ACC and both are very capable of putting the ball in the hole. We're going to have our hands full. We seem to keep playing teams with dominate point guards and it's going to be another tough challenge for Sha (Brooks).”
Sunday's game also marks the first time Gator freshman Trumae Lucas returns to her native state wearing the orange and blue. Lucas hails from Greensboro, where she starred for Grimsley High School which is approximately 68 miles from Raleigh. Lucas led the Whirlies to the 2007 4-A High School Championship game, but Grimsley dropped a 69-64 decision to Hope Mills South View despite 33 points from Lucas. She is coming off her finest game as a Gator, scoring five points with three rebounds, two assists and two steals in seven minutes of action, most of which came during UF's game-changing 20-0 run against UAB on Wednesday.
The Gators' 10-day excursion began with the Junkanoo Jam, held in the Bahamas, where Florida defeated Southern Illinois on Nov. 28 and Arizona State on Nov. 29 to capture the tournament title. The Gators then headed to Birmingham, Ala., where they won a 77-75 thriller against UAB on Dec. 3.
Game Day Information
What: Game 9: Florida (7-1) at N.C. State (4-4)
When: Sunday, December 7, 2008 * 2 p.m. ET
Where: Raleigh, N.C. * Reynolds Coliseum (9,500)
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)
Streaming Online Video: www.ACCselect.com ($5.95 per event)
Television: none
Post-Game Satellite Feed: none
-UF-
