No. 12/16 Gators Host Kentucky Thursday at 7 pm
Wednesday, January 28, 2009 | Women's Basketball
The No. 12/16 University of Florida women's basketball team concludes its three-game home stand on Thursday, when the team plays host to Kentucky beginning at 7 p.m. The game will be televised live on SEC-TV's Regional package that includes FSN South, FSN Southwest & Sun Sports, which airs on COX Cable channel 48 in Gainesville.
The Gators look to extend their modest three-game win streak, while the Wildcats (12-8, 2-3 SEC) enter Thursday's affair having lost their last two games, including Sunday's 59-56 setback to LSU.
Florida (18-2, 4-1 SEC) is a perfect 11-0 in the O'Connell Center this season, riding a 12-game home winning streak, the fourth-longest stretch in program history.
Not only is head coach Amanda Butler a UF alum, earning her bachelor's and master's degrees in Gainesville, but she knows the importance of protecting her home court. In her three-plus years as a collegiate head coach, Butler's teams have posted a 51-9 record at home, including a 25-5 during her second year at her alma mater.
Following Thursday's game, Florida plays four of its next five on the road, traveling to Arkansas, Alabama, Vanderbilt and LSU, with the Feb. 8 date against Tennessee the lone home contest in the middle of the stretch.
Florida holds a slim 21-19 all-time lead against Kentucky, sporting a 9-7 record when playing at home in the series. Kentucky, which captured last year's 60-58 thriller in Lexington, has won three of the last four games against Florida, as well as four of the last five contests.
Current senior Marshae Dotson (Columbus, Ohio) tied her career-high of 26 points while collecting a game-high 12 rebounds in last year's two-point setback to the Wildcats, who scored 32 of their points off of 24 Gator turnovers.
"Hopefully, last year's loss is still stuck in their minds, but it was a long time ago," Butler said. "That was our first SEC ballgame. Marshae had an outstanding game and some things happened toward the end that were out of our control, but we still put ourselves in position to win the game. One of the things you gain from experience is that your players can carry over things from one year to the next, whether it's a positive experience or a disappointment. Those events can be in the forefront of their mind and help us.
"What's great about this year's team is that they understand how intense and how important each of these SEC ballgames are and that's one of the biggest differences from last year to this year," Butler continued. "Not that last year's team didn't think that SEC ballgames we're important, but now there's a great sense of awareness during practice, in their conversations in and outside of practice that they didn't have last year. I think that's been a contributing factor in our success this season.
"We prepare for every SEC ballgame to be a one-point game, that a game is going to be won by a free throw or a last-second shot. We take a one-possession approach in our preparation," Butler shared.
Dotson and fellow senior Sha Brooks (Jackson, Tenn.) continue to be the team's offensive leaders this season. They 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 (14.7 ppg), assists (91), steals (35), free throws made (86) and free throws attempted (103). In addition to 12.8 points per game, Dotson leads UF in field goal percentage (59.4%) and offensive rebounds (63), while ranking second in rebounding (6.9 pg).
In league outings, both have upped there games, as Brooks is contributing 18.6 points, 6.4 assists (with just 3.6 turnovers) and 2.4 steals, while hitting 85.7 percent (30-35) 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 16.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, while hitting 60.4 percent (32-53) from the FLOOR. 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).
Junior Steffi Sorensen (Jacksonville) is averaging 9.4 points per SEC game, shooting 41.9 percent from the three-point arc, the second-highest percentage among league players and the 12th-highest in the country.
Seven different Gators have been or shared the team's individual game-top scoring honors this season, with Brooks, Dotson, Trumae Lucas (Greensboro, N.C.), Jennifer Mossor (Olrlando, Fla.), Sharielle Smith (Bradenton, Fla.), Sorensen and Lonnika Thompson (New Orleans, La.) each leading UF offensively at least once.
Kentucky's three SEC losses have been by a combined total of 15 points, an average of just 5.0 points per game, including the five-point setback at then-No. 7 Tennessee (69-64) to open league play. The Wildcats also dropped a 52-45 decision to Mississippi State (Jan. 18), before its most recent 59-56 loss to LSU on Sunday.
Three Kentucky players are averaging a double-figure scoring effort, with 6-foot-3 center Eleia Roddy leading the charge in SEC games with 14.0 points, along with 7.8 rebounds per game. Roddy is the SEC's leader for offensive rebounds, snaring 3.6 per game overall. Forward Victoria Dunlap tallies 11.8 points with 10 rebounds against league foes (leading all SEC players for defensive rebounds), while Carly Morrow adds 11.4 points, hitting 34.3% from long range. Amani Franklin contributes 9.2 points in SEC games, but is hitting 10.3 points overall.
Kentucky head coach Matthew Mitchell was an assistant coach at Florida for three years (2000-03), serving under former head coaches Carol Ross and Carolyn Peck. The Gators were 51-36 during his three-year stay in Gainesville.
What They Stand 4
Glance around the O'Connell Center at the start of a Gator women's basketball game this season and you'll notice several fans standing - not just until Florida scores its first points, which is common at a lot of schools - but for the first FOUR minutes of each game.
After reading the Dec. 17th ESPN.com article written by Beth Mowins entitled, “Four minutes could be the key to Florida's season,” that describes the 2008-09 team's mantra of setting the tone of the game in the first four minutes, the Backcourt Club has adopted a gesture of standing during those first four minutes of a game.
Member Nita White got the idea flowing with an email reading, “If the players can play hard for 4 minutes surely the fans can stand in support for 4 minutes.” More and more Gator fans have been standing through those initial four minutes, with “4” signs even appearing.
Game Day Information
What: Florida (18-2, 4-1 SEC) hosts Kentucky (12-8, 2-3 SEC)
When: Thursday, January 29, 2009 * 7 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 on SEC-TV Regional (FSN South, FSN Southwest & Sun Sports - COX channel 48 in Gainesville) with Rich Waltz & 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 ($1 general admission coupons are available at www.GatorZone.com)
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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