Florida sophomore Azania Stewart (Wood Green, England) tied a career high with 18 points and the Gators scored 42 points off of 39 Ohio turnovers in a 78-49 win against the Bobcats in the Stephen C. O'Connell Center on Monday.
The Gators (6-6) used a balanced effort that saw playing time for each of its 13 players who dressed for the contest, with none seeing more than 21 minutes of action. Florida took advantage of its post presence to out-score Ohio 40-24 in points in the paint and employed a stifling man-to-man defense, led by senior guard Lonnika Thompson's (New Orleans, La.) career-high seven steals.
The 39 turnovers forced by the Gators were the most by a UF opponent since forcing 41 against Southwest Texas on Dec. 5, 1998.
“I was very, very pleased with our effort in every regard tonight,” Florida head coach Amanda Butler said. “Our effort, our intensity, the focus that we had with just two days of preparation and our attitude going into this next phase has just been tremendous. You can see that by the way we played tonight. We had great leadership, tremendous energy and a lot of confidence that has made all of the difference in the world. We played Florida Basketball tonight.”
Stewart's 18 points came on 6-of-7 shooting from the floor to complement 6-of-7 from the free-throw line. She also brought down four rebounds and blocked three shots. In her last four home games combined, Stewart is averaging 15.3 points per game.
Sophomore guard Jordan Jones (Suwanee, Ga.), who has hit a 3-pointer in every game this season and 23 consecutive overall dating back to her time at South Carolina, chipped in 14 points, including four 3-pointers.
“Jordan is a great shooter – everyone expects that when she's open, she is going to pull it,” Butler said. “Going back to the past two days, she shot very confidently in practice. It was no surprise to us.”
Freshman forward Jennifer George (Orlando, Fla.) and Thompson each added nine points. George and senior guard Steffi Sorensen (Jacksonville, Fla.) led the Gators on the boards with six rebounds apiece.
The Gators took a 36-22 advantage into the locker room at intermission, after shooting 38.2 percent (13-of-34) from the floor and out-rebounding the Bobcats 21-16. Florida forced Ohio into 19 first-half turnovers that it translated into 21 Gator points.
Florida opened to a 7-3 advantage to start the game after back-to-back baskets by Stewart and Jones. The Gators, however, made just three of their first 11 shots and Ohio was able to pull ahead 8-7 at the 13:11 mark as Jenny Poff scored each of the Bobcats' first eight points, including back-to-back baskets to give her team the lead. From there, UF ran off 11 in a row in less than a two-minute span to jump back in front 18-8 with 11:30 left in the half.
That scoring spree was part of a larger 20-5 run that was capped off by a Thompson 3-pointer from the left corner that extended Florida's lead to 15, 27-13, with 5:02 remaining in the period. The two teams then traded baskets until six consecutive Gator points, highlighted by a Jones 3, gave Florida its largest advantage at 18, 36 -18 with 25.1 seconds left. The Bobcats scored the final four points of the half as the Gators took a 36-22 advantage into the locker room at intermission.
Florida held Ohio scoreless for the first four minutes of the second half while adding to its lead to go ahead 44-22 with 16:11 remaining in the game. That was the spark to a 16-4 run that was capped off by back-to-back baskets from George and Ndidi Madu (Antioch, Tenn.) and gave the Gators a 52-26 lead with 13:13 left. With Florida up 52-28, the Gators used a 12-2 run to widen their advantage to 34, 64-30, with 8:49 to go. The Bobcats got no closer than 26 points the rest of the way.
Ohio (3-9) was led by senior guard Jenny Poff's team-high 12 points that included eight in the first seven minutes of the game.
“Thirty-nine turnovers – that's it,” said Ohio head coach and former Tennessee standout Semeka Randall. “Florida came off this break and they were ready to play. Before the break, they had a letdown, but they went to work and came out ready to play. They played hard for 40 minutes, made free throws and did all of the little things you expect your basketball team to do. This is an SEC team and they scored 42 points off of our turnovers. That makes it tough.”
Florida returns to action on Wednesday when it plays host to Jacksonville. Tip-off in the Stephen C. O'Connell Center is slated for 4:30 p.m. ET and the radio broadcast of the game will be carried live in Gainesville on WBXY-FM (The Star 99.5) and through the internet at www.GatorZone.com, the official website of the Florida Gators. Live streaming video will be offered on the website, as well, via GatorVision.
POST-GAME NOTES
? Florida and Ohio met for the third time in school history and the Gators now lead the all-time series between the two schools 3-0.
? The Gators are 10-1 all-time vs. members in the current alignment of the Mid-American Conference, including a 3-0 mark under the direction of head coach Amanda Butler.
? UF used the starting lineup of Jordan Jones, Sharielle Smith, Steffi Sorenson, Azania Stewart and Lonnika Thompson for the fourth time this season and the third consecutive game. The Gators are 2-2 with the current starting lineup.
? The 39 turnovers forced by the Gators were the most by a UF opponent since forcing 41 against Southwest Texas on Dec. 5, 1998.
? Senior guard Steffi Sorensen is the only Gator who has started every game this season.
? Sophomore center Azania Stewart tied her career high with 18 points to lead the Gators. That matched her previous personal best of 18 points scored on Dec. 20 vs. Southern.
? Sophomore guard Jordan Jones has hit at least one 3-pointer in every game this season. She moves into a tie for eighth place in school history in consecutive games with a 3-pointer (12). In total, she has knocked down a trey in 23 consecutive games dating back to her time at South Carolina.
? Senior guard Lonnika Thompson turned in a career-high seven steals and has charted at least one steal in nine consecutive games.
? Senior guard Jennifer Mossor had four points in the game and is now seven points shy of 500 for her Florida career.
? Senior forward Sharielle Smith has converted 13 of her last 16 free-throw attempts.
POST-GAME QUOTES
FLORIDA HEAD COACH AMANDA BUTLER
“I was very, very pleased with our effort in every regard tonight. Our effort, our intensity, the focus that we had with just two days of preparation and our attitude going into this next phase has just been tremendous. You can see that by the way we played tonight. We had great leadership, tremendous energy and a lot of confidence that has made all of the difference in the world.”
On forcing Ohio into 39 turnovers in the game …
“I think you have to be committed to pressure and intensity. We had good preparation, but only two days of prep. That's important to note as well. We were really focused in practice these past two days. I was really pleased with our pressure and waves of pressure when we subbed in off the bench, even went up. I thought LT [Lonnika Thompson] did a great job of setting the tone at the beginning. I think for her to have a career high in steals is fantastic. The point guard often times is the one who sets the tone for you. I don't think it's a coincidence that offensively things seemed to go better when we were so jacked up on the defensive end.”
On employing a stifling man-to-man defense in the game …
“That was the plan. We've always been a solid man team, but we made the commitment to a tough, hard-nosed man. It fit for this team because they're a very good shooting team. I'm just proud of the way our kids really grabbed hold of the game plan, made it work and were consistent. That is definitely something going forward that we're going to be doing a lot more of.”
On 14 points, including four 3-pointers by sophomore guard Jordan Jones …
“Jordan is a great shooter – everyone expects that when she's open, she is going to pull it. Going back to the past two days, she shot very confidently in practice. It was no surprise to us.”
#33 Jordan Jones, So., G
On the difference in her shooting in Monday's game …
“At Christmas break, I was just able to get away for a little bit. I've been putting a lot of pressure on myself. I got a text from Coach [Amanda] Butler that said for me just to get in my high school gym and remember what kind of player and shooter I used to be. I went back to shooting in the gym by myself or with my brother and just remembered how I used to play. I was relaxed, calm and confident. I wasn't playing that way the last couple of games.”
#13 Azania Stewart, So., C
On the difference in her play the last four home games …
“I think it's just confidence. Our game plan has been to go inside, so it has given me a lot of confidence and I've just been able to really finish.”
OHIO HEAD COACH SEMEKA RANDALL
“Thirty-nine turnovers – that's it. Florida came off this break and they were ready to play. Before the break, they had a let-down, but they went to work and came out ready to play. They played hard for 40 minutes, made free throws and did all of the little things you expect your basketball team to do. This is an SEC team and they scored 42 points off of our turnovers. That makes it tough.”
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