Women's Hoops Hosts Jacksonville on Wed., Dec. 30 at 4:30 p.m.
Tuesday, December 29, 2009 | Women's Basketball
The Gators play host to Jacksonville on Wednesday in the O'Connell Center beginning at 4:30 p.m. The Florida men entertain Presbyterian in the second game of the doubleheader.
Fans wanting to attend either game of the doubleheader will need to purchase a full-priced men's ticket ($12 or $20) that will be good for both games. Women's Basketball Season Pass & Gator Gold Card holders will be issued a General Admission ticket to the men's game if they would like to stay. These tickets can be picked up inside the O'Connell Center at Gate 1, where each fan must present their Season Pass.
Fans can park in the O'Connell Center parking garage for free until halftime of the women's game; entrance to the O'Connell Center parking garage area will only be allowed off of SW 2nd Ave.
Wednesday's game is Florida's final chance for fine-tuning before the start of the Southeastern Conference slate, which gets underway on Sun., Jan. 3 against Arkansas in Fayetteville.
Wednesday also marks the fourth and final doubleheader the Gator Basketball teams will play this season. UF is a combined 5-1 in those double-days.
The Gators and Dolphins square off for the third time in program history, with the series tied at 1-all. Both teams successfully defending their respective home courts, as Florida defeated Jacksonville, 74-51, in Gainesville last year, avenging the 75-64 setback the Dolphins handed the Gators on Nov. 28, 2007 at Veteran's Memorial Arena.
Jacksonville enters Wednesday's game sporting a 1-8 overall record, having lost six consecutive. The Dolphins have played seven games away from the friendly confines of their home venue, where JU collected a 77-53 victory over Florida Tech on Nov. 20.
Individually, Courtney Jackson leads JU in scoring with 10.7 points, 19 assists and 14 steals, while sinking a team-leading 12 three-pointers. Desarae Johnson collects 8.0 rebounds per game, while adding 9.8 points. The pair combined for 45 of JU's 72 points in the Dec. 21 loss at East Tennessee State.
“It's another instate opponent that would love to beat the Gators, especially on our home court,” said UF head coach Amanda Butler, who enters the game with 49 wins in her two-plus year tenure at the helm of the program. “We have to be sharp and continue to feed off of Monday's game.”
UF senior Steffi Sorensen, who is UF's second-leading rebounder (6.5 rpg) and third-leading scorer (7.8 ppg), is a native of Jacksonville, where she attended Bartram Trail HS and emerged as the 2006 Miss Florida Basketball and the 2006 Class 5A Player of the Year. Sorensen finished her career as St. Johns County's all-time leading scorer with 2,147 points.
In Florida's last four games, sophomore Azania Stewart is averaging 11.5 points on 19-of-24 shooting for a 79.2 percent clip. Included in that average is a pair of career-high 18 point performances (vs. Southern on Dec. 20 and vs. Ohio on Dec. 28). Also during UF's last four games, Jordan Jones is hitting 47.4 percent (9-19) from beyond the three-point arc.
Jones leads UF overall with 12.1 points per game, along with team-bests of 3.8 assists and 2.1 steals per game.
Numbers of Note:
*Jordan Jones has hit at least one three-pointer in all 12 games this year - tied for the eighth longest streak in UF history (it's also part of a 23-game streak that dates back to Jones freshman year at South Carolina);
*Lonnika Thompson has at least one steal in NINE consecutive games (including a career-high seven against Ohio);
*19 of Azania Stewart's 38 rebounds have come on the offensive side of the floor;
*Only Jones, Stewart and Sharielle Smith have scored in every game this season;
*Steffi Sorensen is the only Gator who has started every game this season;
*Jennifer Mossor is seven points shy of the 500th of her career;
*Tessah Holt has converted seven consecutive free throws, as well as 13 of her last 14 attempts;
*Smith has converted 12 of her last 14 free throw attempts ... and has attempted 199 in her career
Butler enters Wednesday's game with 49 wins in her two-plus years as Florida's head coach. The 43 victories she compiled during her first two seasons were the most ever by a coach in their first two years at UF. Butler also has won 89 games in her five-plus years as a collegiate head coach, with the first 40 coming during her two years at UNC Charlotte.
Game Day Information
What: Florida (6-6) hosts Jacksonville (1-8)
DOUBLEHEADER with UF men's team, which plays Jacksonville at 7 pm
When: Wednesday, December 30, 2009 * 4:30 p.m.
Where: Gainesville, Fla. * Stephen C. O'Connell Center (12,000)
Radio: LIVE on WBXY-FM (The Star 99.5) in Gainesville with Larry Vettel & Steve Russell
Internet Audio: LIVE thru GatorZone.com (FREE of charge)
Internet Video: LIVE thru GatorZone.com (fee-based)
Television: none
Post-Game Satellite Feed: 8:30-8:45 p.m. ET
KU Band Digital Feed - Galaxy 17, Transponder 15, Slot C … Downlink Freq.: 12004.5 Horizontal ... Symbol Rate: 3.9787 ... Data Rate: 5.5 … FEC: 3/4 ... Sat Truck Trouble #: 352-392-8043
Tickets (Doubleheader): Fans wanting to attend either game of the doubleheader will need to purchase a full-priced ticket ($12 or $20). A ticket is good for both games. Women's Basketball Season Pass & Gator Gold Card holders will be issued a General Admission ticket to the men's game if they would like to stay. These tickets can be picked up inside the O'Connell Center at Gate 1, where each fan must present their Season Pass.
Parking: fans can park in the O'Connell Center parking garage for free until halftime of the women's game; entrance to the O'Connell Center parking garage area will only be allowed off of SW 2nd Ave.
-UF-
