On the road again: UF women's basketball team facing early challenges away from home
Monday, November 29, 2010 | Women's Basketball, Gymnastics, Scott Carter
If not for a controversial one-point loss at DePaul, the Gators women's basketball team would be undefeated entering Tuesday's home game against Old Dominion.
Still, at 5-1 Florida is off to a solid start in Coach Amanda Butler's fourth season. The Gators spent Thanksgiving Day together in Orono, Maine, preparing for the Dead River Company Classic on the University of Maine's campus.
Florida made sure the extended stay in Maine – several players got to see snow for the first time while they were there – paid off by winning the tournament with victories over South Alabama and Navy.
After hosting Old Dominion, the Gators head back to the Northeast for the Brown Bear Classic in Providence, R.I. The Gators face Providence on Saturday and Brown on Sunday.
Butler said Monday that the early season road trips present different challenges for a team with six newcomers.
“You kind of expect a certain level of adversity when you go on the road, especially when you go on the road in a different area of the country where you may have officials you've never seen before,'' Butler said. “[It's] a little bit of a different daily schedule for our team, and really I think puts a lot of pressure on our leaders to make sure that in the hotel … we're doing the things that we need to do to get ready although we are not in the friendly confines of our home.''
The Gators did not have much success playing away from the O'Connell Center a year ago. They were 10-7 at home, 5-10 away or at a neutral site.
Butler is hoping the extended road trips help build team chemistry and accountability. Once the Gators return from Rhode Island, they only have to leave the state once more before the New Year, a Dec. 10 game at Hampton.
“It's just another way for this team to grow up and for our leaders to step up and make our younger players in particular understand how important every part of traveling is and doing things right,'' Butler said.
