Playing their first games in Florida uniforms, freshman Jennifer George (Orlando, Fla.) and sophomore Jordan Jones (Suwanee, Ga.) combined for 38 points to direct the Gators to an 85-63 season-opening win against in-state foe Stetson on Saturday in the Stephen C. O'Connell Center.
The Gators (1-0), who won their 17th consecutive non-conference home game, shot 50 percent (33-of-66) from the field in the game, making seven 3-pointers, and out-rebounding the Hatters (0-1), 35-30. Florida came up with 14 steals in the game, marking its most since also swiping 14 against Kentucky on Jan. 29, 2008.
Each of the 12 Florida players who suited up for Saturday's game saw action, with 11 of those players scoring at least two points as part of the team's balanced offensive attack. UF's seven 3-pointers are tied for the second-most in a season opener in program history.
The Gators, who improve to 207-59 all-time vs. teams from the Sunshine State, posted the 575th victory in the program's 36-year history on a day in which Florida during a timeout honored the inaugural 1974-75 team. UF is 575-437 all-time in its history.
“It's a great way for us to start the season, getting everyone on the floor and getting a chance to try out a lot of different combinations,” Florida head coach Amanda Butler said. “I was really, really pleased with our defense tonight. I thought our defensive effort and execution was very well performed. There were obviously some outstanding individual performances but, overall, I thought we had great balance, primarily because of the defense that we played.”
George turned in the third-best offensive performance by a Gator in her collegiate debut, finishing with a game-high 21 points, including 7-of-9 from the floor to complement five offensive rebounds in just 16 minutes of play. George's 77.8-shooting percentage went down as the second-highest field goal percentage by a player in her first game as a Gator in school history. Only Murriel Page's 9-of-11 career-opening performance in 1994 ranks higher.
Jones, playing her first collegiate game in 601 days after transferring to Florida from South Carolina, tallied 17 points – including three 3-pointers - to go along with a game-high five assists and two steals. Jones scored the Gators' first two points of the game with a pair of free-throws at the 18:22 mark of the opening period. She nailed her first field goal less than four minutes later to give UF a lead it wouldn't relinquish.
“Those two [George and Jones] are a big part of the answer to our scoring,” Butler said. “They have established themselves as scorers and we've been seeing that in practice a lot. I think the encouraging thing is that we scored 85 points and [former Gators] Sha [Brooks] and Marshae [Dotson] didn't play tonight. We've found offensive answers and I think we are going to have a lot of different people step up in different ways this season.”
Senior forward Sharielle Smith (Bradenton, Fla.) finished just shy of her third career double-double, tallying nine points and a team-high nine rebounds. Seven Florida players scored six or more points in the contest.
Senior guard Steffi Sorensen (Jacksonville, Fla.), who made her team-high 32nd consecutive start, tallied eight points, six rebounds and came up with a career-high six steals.
The Gators took a 44-25 lead into the locker room at intermission after shooting 47.4 percent (18-of-38) from the floor and out-rebounding Stetson 22-15. Florida connected on six 3-pointers in the opening period, knocking down 6-of-13 first-half opportunities beyond the arc.
Stetson opened to an early 7-4 advantage to begin the game as the Gators made just one of their first nine shots from the floor over the first four-plus minutes of the contest The Gators used a 10-0 run spanning 2:25 to turn a one-point deficit into a seven-point lead, 14-7, on a Susan Yenser (Marietta, Ga.) jumper from the corner with 12:46 to go in the first half.
The two teams traded baskets until the Gators, leading 17-12, rank off eight consecutive points, including 3-pointers by Sorensen and Smith, to go up 25-12 with 9:10 left in the half. Florida kept adding to its lead, extending its advantage to 14, 32-18, on a Smith put-back at the 5:42 mark. Stetson was able to cut within 11, 32-21, with 4:41 remaining, but the Gators widened their edge back to 14 after a 3-pointer by Yenser with 4:26 to go. Florida took its largest lead of the opening half into the locker room, using a 7-0 run to close the first period.
After a Jones lay-up began the second half, Stetson ran off four consecutive points to cut within 17, 46-29, with 18:19 to go in the game. The Gators widened their advantage to 21 points, 50-29, after four straight points by George. That was the beginning of a 7-3 run that put the Gators up 53-32 on a jumper from Ndidi Madu (Antioch, Tenn.) with 15:39 left.
Florida kept adding to its advantage to go up 61-38 thanks to three baskets in a row by Trumae Lucas (Greensboro, N.C.), the last coming at the 10:37 mark. With Florida ahead by 24, 79-55, with 3:03 left in the game, the Hatters began slowly cutting into their deficit to come as close as 18, 79-61, with 1:44 remaining. The Gators added back-to-back baskets by rookies Christal Caldwell (Charlotte, N.C.) and Tessah Holt (Fayette, Ga.) to build their lead back up to 22.
Stetson was led by Ashley Dennis' team-high 14 points.
“I'm proud of our kids,” Stetson head coach Lynn Bria said. “We could have laid down and died and we kept playing and were able to do a lot of what we wanted to do. To their credit, I think Florida is a really good team. They are balanced and very talented, and they play extremely hard. They have a lot of offensive weapons and you have to do a good job of guarding all of their players.”
Florida returns to action on Tuesday when it plays host to No. 15/12 Florida State. Tip-off in the Stephen C. O'Connell Center is slated for 7 p.m. ET and the game will be carried live on Sun Sports in the North-Central coverage territory and WBXY-FM (The Star 99.5) in Gainesville.
POST-GAME NOTES
· Florida improves to 20-16 all-time in season openers, including a 12-5 record when opening the season at home.
· The Gators are 28-8 all-time in home openers, including five consecutive wins.
· Florida is 207-59 all-time vs. teams from the state of Florida.
· The Gators posted their 575th victory in program history. Florida is 575-437 all-time in its 36-year history.
· Florida boasts a 17-game non-conference home winning streak. It is the third-longest streak of its kind in program history.
· UF is 22-3 all-time vs. Stetson and 59-9 against teams in the current alignment of the Atlantic Sun Conference.
· Florida improves to 29-6 at home under head coach Amanda Butler.
· The Gators had seven 3-pointers in the game as a team, which ties for their second-most in a season-opener in school history.
· Florida's 14 steals were its most since also recording 14 against Kentucky on Jan. 29, 2008.
· Jordan Jones played her first collegiate game in 601 days on Saturday.
· Sharielle Smith played her team-leading 94th career game.
· Steffi Sorensen came up with a career-high six steals.
· Jennifer George's 21 points were tied for the third most in a Gator debut, while Jordan Jones' 17 points tied for sixth all-time
POST-GAME QUOTES
FLORIDA HEAD COACH AMANDA BUTLER
“It's a great way for us to start the season, getting everyone on the floor and getting a chance to try out a lot of different combinations. I was really, really pleased with our defense tonight. I thought our defensive effort and execution was very well performed. There were obviously some outstanding individual performances but, overall, I thought we had great balance, primarily because of the defense that we played.”
On if she was surprised by the play of freshman Jennifer George …
“We've seen her in practice have that type of physical presence that she did tonight. I don't think there were a lot of surprises in terms of what we saw from our players. I liked the balance and our ability to get people looks when certain people were off the floor. It was important for us to see how we can operate with different combinations of players on the floor.”
On whether Jennifer George and Jordan Jones are the scoring answer to departed seniors Sha Brooks and Marshae Dotson …
“Those two are a big part of the answer to our scoring. They have established themselves as scorers and we've been seeing that in practice a lot. I think the encouraging thing is that we scored 85 points and Sha [Brooks] and Marshae [Dotson] didn't play tonight. We've found offensive answers and I think we are going to have a lot of different people step up in different ways this season.”
On the play of Florida's young players vs. Stetson …
“To see our younger players step up and put the ball in the hole is very rewarding. I think with every game you are going to see [Jennifer] George's confidence grow and that's something you can only get with experience. To take that from the practice court to the game floor just builds confidence in a way that we can't generate in practice.”
#33 Jordan Jones, So., G
On whether there were any nerves playing her first game in 601 days …
“I think there were a lot of nerves in the locker room, but when the ball went up, I settled down and it was just another game. The nerves just kind of went away.”
On if she felt a little rusty after not having played a game in nearly two years …
“I haven't played in a real game, but I have been practicing, so it's not like I was injured and couldn't play. I was really nervous coming into the game and I think everyone could tell I was a little on edge, but Coach Butler and my teammates did a really good job of settling me down to just prepare and play basketball. When the ball went up, it was just going out there and playing basketball again. There wasn't any rust or anything like that.”
#32 Jennifer George, Fr., F
On her game-high 21 points …
“I feel like every game is just another building block to give me more experience throughout the season. It's just an experience that I can grow from every step of the way.”
STETSON HEAD COACH LYNN BRIA
“I'm proud of our kids. We could have laid down and died and we kept playing and were able to do a lot of what we wanted to do. To their credit, I think Florida is a really good team. They are balanced and very talented, and they play extremely hard. They have a lot of offensive weapons and you have to do a good job of guarding all of their players.”
-UF-
