Gators Host SEC Rival Georgia on Sunday at 2 pm in Nationally TV Game
Saturday, January 17, 2009 | Women's Basketball
Throw out the stats, the rankings and the records, when Florida and Georgia meet in any sport it's usually a classic Southeastern Conference rivalry. On Sunday at 2 p.m., the Gator women's basketball team plays host to Georgia in the O'Connell Center in a game that will be nationally televised by FSN.
“This is a huge game for a lot of different reasons, with the biggest that this is an SEC game on our home floor,” UF head coach Amanda Butler said. “Secondary to that it our opponent is Georgia and we failed to perform up to our potential last year in either of the games we played against them. They seem to be on a run against us over the last few years.
“Also, this is our Alumni Day and it's an opportunity for the country to see us play with the game being televised nationally. We will have our WBCA Pink Zone awareness day for breast cancer on Sunday,” Butler continued. “If we can capitalize on all those different opportunities, it's going to be a great day to be a Gator.”
Sunday's game will have a much different feel than the majority of the previous match-ups. While this will be the 53rd meeting between the Gators and Lady Bulldogs - which is the second-longest series in UF history - it will be just the second time that Florida will be ranked among the top-25 teams in the current national polls and Georgia will not. The only other time this occurred was on Feb. 17, 1998. And wouldn't you know it - the Lady Dawgs won, 79-62, in Athens.
Georgia holds a commanding 42-10 lead in the 52-game series against Florida and carries a nine-game win streak versus the Gators into Sunday's contest. The last eight games, however, have been even more lopsided in favor of the Lady Dawgs, who have won those outings by an average of 25.8 points per game. Florida has not defeated Georgia since sweeping the two-game regular-season series during the 2003-04 season, which included a 69-59 Gator win on Feb. 26, 2004, in Gainesville, the last time UF took a game from the Dawgs.
Seniors Sha Brooks and Marshae Dotson were voted as First Team All-SEC performers during the preseason and both have shown why during Florida's first three league games this year. In league outings, both have upped there games, as Brooks is contributing 22.3 points, 7.0 assists and 3.0 steals, while hitting 87.5 percent (21-24) from the free throw line. She tagged South Carolina for a game-high 25 points after scoring a career-high 31 points in the SEC-opener against Mississippi State (Jan. 8). Dotson is tallying 16.3 points, 7.7 rebounds, while hitting 70.4 percent (19-27) from the floor and 84.6 percent (11-13) from the free throw line. In Thursday's win at South Carolina, she shot a perfect 8-for-8 from the floor and hit 3-of-4 from the line, while collecting a team-high six rebounds.
Sharielle Smith also is posting a double-figure scoring average over the three-game span, netting 10.0 points per game and hitting 5-of-10 from the three-point arc. She collected a career-high five steals at South Carolina on Thursday.
Overall, Brooks leads the team in scoring (14.9 ppg), assists (80), steals (32), free throws made (77) and free throws attempted (92). In addition to 12.5 points per game, Dotson leads UF in rebounding (7.2 pg), field goal percentage (61.1%) and offensive rebounds (59). Smith quietly overtook Dotson for the rebounding lead two weeks ago, but moved back behind the veteran, with a 6.8 per game mark, just six total rebounds behind Dotson. Smith also averages 9.4 points overall, including a 10.0 tally in SEC games. In the last eight games, Smith has hauled in 7.6 rebounds per game, the top average over that span.
Should Brooks earn a starting spot for Sunday's game, she would break UF's all-time record by starting her 110th consecutive game. Her current streak is tied for the all-time longest in program history, matching only Murriel Page (1994-98), who started the final 109 games of her All-American career. Brooks, who has never missed a game during her career, has started all but one game during her collegiate tenure (111 of 112 games).
Andy Landers collected his 800th career coaching victory on Thursday, during Georgia's 74-28 thumping of Savannah State, becoming just the fifth women's coach ever to reach the prestigious plateau. This is his 34th year on the sideline, including his 30th with the Lady Dawgs.
The Lady Bulldogs (11-6, 1-1 SEC) are led by Preseason First Team All-SEC Selection Ashley Houts, who leads Georgia in scoring (12.6 ppg), assists (79), steals (47) and free throw percentage (80.6%), while being the only Lady Dawg who has started all 17 games, averaging a team-high 35.8 minutes per game. While Houts commands the perimeter game and runs UGa's offense, redshirt junior Angel Robinson has been the leader inside, contributing 11.1 points with 8.5 rebounds per game, while shooting 54.1 percent from the floor. Porsha Phillips, a sophomore transfer from LSU, tallies 9.0 points along with grabbing 6.7 rebounds overall, but has averaged 12.0 points in two SEC games this year. Angela Puleo has helped keep defenses honest with her team-leading 36.4 percent three-point shooting accuracy, knocking down 28-of-77 this season.
The Gators (16-2, 2-1 SEC) are 9-0 this season when playing in the O'Connell Center, while sporting on overall 10-game home winning streak, the fourth-longest win streak in program history. The third-longest run at home was the 16-game march the Gators compiled from Jan. 30, 2000 to Feb. 11, 2001.
Three Gators are natives of the Peach State. Sophomore Ebonie Crawford hails from Decatur, Ga., located approximately 54 miles from Athens, while junior Susan Yenser is from Marietta, 66 miles from the UG campus. Jordan Jones, who is required to sit-out the season after transferring from South Carolina, is a native of Suwanee.
Florida assistant coach Susie Gardner is a graduate of Georgia, earning her bachelor's degree in 1986 and her master's in 1988. As a four-year letterwinner (1982-86) under Andy Landers, Gardner was a member of the 1983 and 1985 Final Four teams that also won three SEC championships (1983, 1984 & 1986). She followed her playing career as a graduate assistant coach in Athens for two seasons, helping the Dawgs reach the NCAA Tournament both seasons. During her tenure as a head coach at Austin Peay State University, Gardner coached the Lady Govs to the largest victory in program history - a 71-66 victory over then-No. 9 Georgia on Dec. 16, 1997 in Athens. Current head coach Amanda Butler was an assistant coach on Gardner's staff during that monumental upset.
Carol Ross, who is providing the color commentary for Sunday's game, was the Gators' head coach for 12 years. When she resigned from UF following the 2001-02 season, Ross did so as the program's all-time winningest coach with a 247-121 record and nine NCAA Tournament appearances. Her debut season in Gainesville (1990-91) also was the freshman year for current head coach Amanda Butler. Following Butler's graduation, Ross hired her as an assistant coach for two seasons.
Game Day Information
What: Florida (16-2, 2-1 SEC) hosts Georgia (11-6, 1-1 SEC)
When: Sunday, January 18, 2009 * 2 p.m. ET
Where: Gainesville, Fla. * Stephen C. O'Connell Center (12,000)
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 Internet Video: none
Television: LIVE NATIONAL telecast on FSN (Cox Cable channel 70 in Gainesville) with Ron Thulin & Carol Ross
Post-Game Satellite Feed: none
Tickets: Reserved Seating: $5 - All; General Admission: $4 - Adults, $2 - Seniors age 55 and older & Youth age 17 & under; FREE - UF Students with valid ID
SPECIAL PROMOTION: Gators Pink Zone - Breast Cancer Awareness Night; Fans who wear pink can purchase $1 general admission tickets
Parking: there is no charge or reserved section for parking in the O'Connell Center lot on the weekend or beginning at 4:30 p.m. on weekdays
Special Game-Day Promotions
*First 1,000 fans receive a Gators Pink Zone t-shirt courtesy of Sun Sports!
*Gators Pink Zone - Breast cancer awareness night working with American Cancer Society. Wear pink for $1 general admission.
*Gator Women's Basketball Alumni Day - All former players invited back.
*MLK Celebration Day - Community African American role models will be recognized.
*I Filled It Up Scout Challenge - All Boy Scouts (8th grade and under) in the area invited to participate.
*Gator Kids FunZone - Inflatable games set-up during game between Gates 3 and 4 for kids 12 and under!
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