Gators Resume Workouts in Preparation for Postseason
Saturday, March 14, 2009 | Women's Basketball
The Gators took a few days away from the basketball court this week, but returned to the hardwood Wednesday evening to begin their preparations for postseason play.
Florida (23-7) will learn its postseason fate on Monday, March 16, when the NCAA Tournament field of 64 is announced. ESPN will air the selections live beginning at 7 p.m. ET.
Following the Southeastern Conference Tournament, head coach Amanda Butler gave the Gators a few extra days to rest and rejuvenate with the University currently observing Spring Break.
“We challenged them during the couple days off to rest their bodies, but make sure their minds were engaged preparing what's next,” Butler said. “They were back in the weight room on Wednesday, working on their strength and keeping their conditioning up and ready.
“Their energy and competitive spirit and awareness of what it takes for us to be successful are what are most important. We're getting a lot of shots up and having a couple of practices a day.
“If you took the second half of that Tennessee ballgame, while it wasn't a perfect half of basketball, we did score 46 points, created 14 turnovers and forced the tempo of the game,” Butler said. “As disappointing as it was to lose that game, how we played in the second half is something to build on and that's what we're doing.”
Should the Gators be awarded a NCAA Tournament berth, it would be the 12th in program history (1993-94-95-96-97-98-99-01-02-04-06). Florida also has made four WNIT appearances (1985-2000-05-08). A postseason trip this year would be the team's 15 in the last 17 seasons.
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