No. 15/19 Florida Hosts Ole Miss on Sunday at 2 p.m.
Saturday, January 24, 2009 | Women's Basketball
The University of Florida women's basketball team plays host to Ole Miss on Sunday, when the Gators will be aiming to extend their modest two-game winning streak, as well as their 11-game home winning streak. Tip-off from the O'Connell Center is set for 2 p.m.
Sunday's game is the first time Florida has played since earning a 61-45 victory over Georgia last Sunday, having a mid-week by from competition.
“Hopefully, we've used the week off productively and we've improved,” UF head coach Amanda Butler said. “We know we have to be ready. Ole Miss lost a tough one on Thursday and they've had a terrific season until this point. They play very hard and they rebound extremely well. They also shoot the ball well. All of those things mean that we have to protect our home court and we have to do all of the little things in order to be successful.”
The Gators (17-2, 3-1 SEC) continue their three-game Southeastern Conference homestand playing host to a Lady Rebels squad that dropped a 76-67 to South Carolina on Thursday in Oxford. Shantell Black led Ole Miss (13-6, 2-2 SEC) with 22 points, but it wasn't enough to overcome a career-high 31-point effort from Brionna Dickerson.
Florida's 11-game home winning streak is the fourth-longest stretch in program history, however the Gators have not defeated the Lady Rebels in Gainesville since Feb. 28, 2003, when Florida earned the 78-64 victory.
Florida holds a slim 14-12 lead in the series against Ole Miss, including the Gators' 72-66 victory last year in Oxford, where they overcame a 17-point halftime deficit to post the comeback which tied for the second-largest rally in program history. Eight of the last 10 games in the series have been decided by single digits, including each of the last three meetings.
UF's Butler and UM's Renee Ladner are two of the five SEC head coaches who began their current stint with a league team last season, but the similarities between the two don't stop there. Butler and Ladner are just two of 24 NCAA Division I women's basketball head coaches who have returned to their alma mater where they also played collegiate basketball. Butler and Ladner both were hired by Carol Ross, a former UF and UM head coach, for their first collegiate coaching positions, with both wearing the Orange & Blue in their inaugural assistant coaching jobs. Butler was an assistant coach at UF from 1995-97, while Ladner worked with the Gators from 2000-02.
Coming as no surprise, UF seniors Sha Brooks and Marshae Dotson have been the team's offensive leaders this season. The pair are the only two Gators averaging a double-figure scoring effort, headlining UF's potent and very balanced attack.
Brooks leads the team in scoring (14.9 ppg), assists (86), steals (34), free throws made (79) and free throws attempted (95). In addition to 12.9 points per game, Dotson leads UF in rebounding (7.1 pg), field goal percentage (59.6%) and offensive rebounds (62). Junior Sharielle Smith quietly overtook Dotson for the rebounding lead three weeks ago, but moved back behind the veteran, with a 6.8 per game mark, just six total rebounds behind Dotson. Smith also averages 9.2 points overall.
Brooks and Dotson were voted as First Team All-SEC performers during the preseason and both have shown why during Florida's first four league games this year. In league outings, both have upped there games, as Brooks is contributing 20.5 points, 6.8 assists (with just 3.5 turnovers) and 2.8 steals, while hitting 85.2 percent (23-27) from the free throw line. She tagged South Carolina (Jan. 11) for a game-high 25 points after scoring a career-high 31 points in the SEC-opener against Mississippi State (Jan. 8).
Dotson, who was named the SEC Player of the Week on Jan. 19th, is tallying 17.3 points, 7.3 rebounds, while hitting 61.4 percent (27-44) from the FLOOR and 75.0 percent (15-20) from the free throw line. In the Jan. 11th 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, and followed that performance with a game-high points against Georgia (Jan. 18).
Juniors Steffi Sorensen and Smith are averaging 8.5 points per SEC game, respectively, with both shooting an identical 41.7 percent from the three-point arc. Sorensen, however, has nailed 10-of-24, while Smith is 5-of-12, but takes the edge with her overall shooting by converting 46.4 percent.
Game Day Information
What: Florida (17-2, 3-1 SEC) hosts Ole Miss (13-6, 2-2 SEC)
When: Sunday, January 25, 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; tape-delayed per SEC TV contract and available at 8 a.m. ET on January 26th
Television: none
Post-Game Satellite Feed: 5:30-5:45 p.m. ET
KU Band Digital Feed - Galaxy 17, Transponder 24K, Slot F … Downlink Freq.: 12187.5 Vertical ... Symbol Rate: 3.9787 … Data Rate: 5.5 ... FEC: 3/4 ... Sat Truck Trouble #: 352-392-8043
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
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
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