Making her first career start, freshman Florida guard Brittany Shine (Sacramento, Calif.) scored a career-high 28 points to direct the Gators to a 95-38 win against Alabama State on Monday in the Gator Holiday Classic at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center.
The Gators (9-3), playing their first game since Dec. 10 due to final exams, used a balanced offensive output that placed four players in double-figure scoring. It marked the seventh time this season that Florida has placed three or more players in double figures in a single game and the third time that four or more players have tallied double-figures in points.
“I'm very pleased with a lot of different things,” Florida head coach Amanda Butler said. “First and foremost is just responding in a really, really tough week of practice. It was exam week and we really get to focus on getting better as students and we did a fantastic job of in that regard. When you've had a disappointing loss and you have a bunch of time to practice, you can kind of get in a rut. I never really felt like our team did that. We came out fighting and looking for ways to get better every single day. There was probably a part of them where they were quite ready to play someone else besides themselves.”
· WATCH the postgame press conference with Coach Butler, Brittany Shine and Deana Allen – FREE courtesy of GatorVision OnLine
Shine became the first Gator this season to eclipse the 20-point plateau this season, besting her previous career high of 16 points set against Harvard on Dec. 7. Her 28 points were the most scored by a Gator since Sha Brooks poured in 29 points against Tennessee on Feb. 8, 2009. She connected on 4-of-9 three-pointers, tying for the most by a Gator in a single game this season. Shine reached her career high by halftime with 19 points in the opening period.
Sophomore forward Jennifer George (Orlando, Fla.) was impressive on the defensive end, blocking a career-high nine shots, which ties for the second-most rejections in a single game in school history. Vanessa Hayden holds the school record with 10 blocked shots against Kent State on Dec. 29, 2001. George becomes just the second different player in school history to chart nine or more blocks in a single game. George added six rebounds and five points in 16 minutes of action.
“It's not really surprising,” Butler said. “George is such an incredible physical presence and, much like a shooter gets in a zone, I think a shot blocker gets some timing and some rhythm on someone. [Alabama State] was a little smaller and I was just excited to see George really try and physically dominate because I think that's a part of her game that has been there on some nights and not on others. For her to have that sort of defensive presence changes that end of the floor for us.”
Freshman guard Jaterra Bonds (Gainesville, Fla.) scored 13 points in the game, marking her fifth double-figure scoring effort this season. She also dished out a career-high nine assists, marking the most charted by any Gator player since Sha Brooks dished out 10 assists against Arkansas on Feb. 1, 2009.
Junior point guard Lanita Bartley (Jacksonville, Fla.) came up with a career-high five steals – the most of any Florida player this season. She also tied her Florida career high with 12 points, matching her best of 12 scored against UCF in the season opener on Nov. 13.
Junior Deana Allen (Houma, La.) also tallied a career-high 13 points, hitting 2-of-3 three-pointers, as well as 5-of-6 from the free throw line, while tying her career-highs of three assists and three steals.
Junior center Azania Stewart (Wood Green, England) brought down a team-high eight rebounds. The Gators won the rebound battle 50-44, marking the 11th time in 12 games this season that Florida has won the battle of the boards.
Florida shot 46.2 percent (36-of-78) from the floor, connecting on 10 three-pointers in the game. The Gators limited the Hornets to 26.3 percent (15-of-57) shooting in the game. It was Florida's lowest shooting percentage defense of the season. Alabama State's 17 points in the second half marked the fewest allowed by the Gators in a single half this season.
The Gators raced out to an early 9-0 lead at the 15:29 mark of the opening period, holding the Hornets without a basket for nearly five minutes to start the game. Florida extended its advantage to 14-3 after a three-point play by Bartley and a basket by Ndidi Madu (Antioch, Tenn.) at the 13:45 mark of the first half. A basket by Bonds and a three-pointer by Shine on back-to-back plays widened UF's lead to 14, 19-5, with 12:33 remaining until intermission.
The two teams traded baskets, as Alabama State cut within 12, 23-11, but a three-pointer by Shine gave Florida a 15-point edge, 26-11, with 9:20 left in the half. With the Gators leading 26-13, Florida used a 9-0 run, powered by four points from Deaundra Young (Titusville, Fla.), to go up 37-13. Florida kept rolling to a 53-21 halftime advantage, closing the opening period on a 16-8 run.
Florida shot 46.3 percent (19-of-41) from the floor in the first half, while limiting Alabama State to just a 30.8 percent (8-of-26) tally from the field. The Gators had 10 steals in the opening period, scoring 23 points off of miscues by the Hornets.
“There was a concern [about letting up],” Butler said. “We talked about that at halftime and we set some halftime goals. One of those was to hold them under 20 points in the second half. We weren't pressing or doing anything special in the second half, just with straight-up man pressure and half-court defense. I was just really proud of them for doing that. That's the first time we've really gotten a sizeable lead this year and then maintained it. We really put our foot down and showed that this is what we're supposed to do in these moments - we're supposed to separate ourselves right now. That's a step in the right direction.”
The Gators quickly built a 40-point lead out of intermission, going up 68-28 at the 14:53 mark of the final period on a free-throw by Stewart. Florida never led by fewer than 40 points the rest of the way with the biggest lead of the game being the final 57-point, 95-38, margin.
Alabama State (2-7) was led by Tankia Jackson's double-double with 12 points and 13 rebounds in 35 minutes of action.
Florida returns to action on Tuesday in the final day of the Gator Holiday Classic, when it plays host to Robert Morris. Tip-off is slated for 4:30 p.m. ET and the game will be carried live on WBXY-FM (99.5 FM The Star in Gainesville).
POST-GAME NOTES
· Florida improves to 9-3 on the season, while Alabama State drops to 2-7.
· The Gators improve to 5-1 all-time vs. Alabama State, including a 5-0 record when the game is played in Gainesville. It marked the first time the two teams faced one another since the 2006 season.
· Florida is now 8-2 all-time vs. teams in the current alignment of the Southwestern Athletic Conference, including a 3-0 record under the direction of head coach Amanda Butler.
· The Gators are 6-0 at home this season and boast a nine-game non-conference home winning streak dating back to last year. Florida is 44-13 at home during Butler's tenure.
· UF won the rebound battle 50-44 and has held the rebounding edge in 11 of 12 contests this season.
· Florida has charted 598 wins in the history of the program, which began in the 1974-75 season. The Gators need two more victories to reach their 600th win in program history.
· Monday's game marked the seventh time this season that the Gators have placed three or more players in double-figure scoring in a single game and the third time this year that four or more players have reached double-figure scoring in the same game.
· The 53 points Florida scored in the opening half were its most in a single half this season, while Alabama State's 17 points in the second half were the fewest points scored by an opponent against the Gators in a single half this year.
· Florida used its fifth different starting lineup of the season with Lanita Bartley, Jaterra Bonds, Ndidi Madu, Brittany Shine and Azania Stewart. It was Shine's first career start in a Gator uniform.
· Freshman guard Brittany Shine scored a career-high 28 points, having reached her personal-best scoring mark in the first half. It marked the third time this season she has scored in double figures. Shine's performance on Monday bettered her previous best offensive output of 16 points against Harvard on Dec. 7.
o Shine's 28 points were the most scored by a Gator since Sha Brooks poured in 29 points against Tennessee on Feb. 8, 2009.
o Shine connected on four three-pointer in the game, tying for the most by a Gator in a single game this season. Jordan Jones has made four treys on two different occasions this season.
· Sophomore forward Jennifer George finished with a career-high nine blocks.
o George's nine blocks tied for the second-most in a game in school history. Vanessa Hayden holds the school record with 10 blocked shots against Kent State on Dec. 29, 2001. Hayden also had nine blocks on two different occasions during her career.
o George becomes just the second different player in school history to chart nine or more blocks in a single game.
o George's nine blocks were the most by a Gator since Hayden blocked nine shots against Florida State on Nov. 26, 2002.
· Junior point guard Lanita Bartley came up with a career-high five steals – the most of any Florida player this season. It marked the third time Bartley has had four or more steals in a single game this year.
o Bartley tied her Florida career high with 12 points, matching her best of 12 scored against UCF in the season opener on Nov. 13.
· Freshman guard Jaterra Bonds scored 13 points in the game, marking her fifth double-figure scoring effort this season.
o Bonds dished out a career-high nine assists, marking the most assists charted by any Gator player this season. Her nine assists are the most by a Florida player since Sha Brooks dished out 10 assists against Arkansas on Feb. 1, 2009.
· Junior guard Deana Allen scored a career-high 13 points. That bested her previous personal record of four points scored on three occasions, last vs. Providence on Dec. 4.
· Junior center Azania Stewart increased her career blocks total to 91. She needs nine more to become the seventh player in program history to swat 100 career blocks.
· Lily Svete became the first Gator to foul out of a game this season
POST-GAME QUOTES
FLORIDA HEAD COACH AMANDA BUTLER
“I'm obviously very pleased with a lot of different things. First and foremost is just responding in a really, really tough week of practice. It was exam week and we really get to focus on getting better as students and we did a fantastic job in that regard. Our team GPA was over 3.0 this semester, so I'm very proud of that. Obviously, we were taking care of business in the classroom, but then on the basketball court, we also just get to focus on individual improvement, team improvement and clean some things up. We really just challenged them. To come off the heels of that week, which was really physically and mentally challenging, and to have a performance like this is what we worked for. This is the way the team deserved to win.”
On what she takes from the team's response after bouncing back from a loss on Dec. 10 …
“It shows some growth. We talked about a lot of different things this week and one of the messages we're constantly delivering is one of 'How can we continue to mature as a team?' When you've had a disappointing loss and you have a bunch of time to practice, you can kind of get in a rut. I never really felt like our team did that. We came out fighting and looking for ways to get better every single day. There was probably a part of them where they were quite ready to play someone else besides themselves, and Alabama State was the unfortunate victim.”
On if she was concerned about her team letting up after leading by 22 points at intermission …
“There was a concern. We talked about that at halftime and we set some halftime goals. One of those was to hold them under 20 points in the second half. We weren't pressing or doing anything special in the second half, just with straight-up man pressure and half-court defense. I was just really proud of them for doing that. That's the first time we've really gotten a sizeable lead this year and then maintained it. We really put our foot down and showed that this is what we're supposed to do in these moments - we're supposed to separate ourselves right now. That's a step in the right direction.
On sophomore forward Jennifer George's career-high nine blocks …
“It's not really surprising. George is such an incredible physical presence and, much like a shooter gets in a zone, I think a shot blocker gets some timing and some rhythm on someone. [Alabama State] was a little smaller and I was just excited to see George really try and physically dominate because I think that's a part of her game that has been there on some nights and not on others. For her to have that sort of defensive presence changes that end of the floor for us.”
FLORIDA PLAYERS
#23 Brittany Shine, Fr., G
On her career-high 28 points …
“It's just a matter of putting in extra work – going to the gym late at night and shooting, shooting, shooting. I try to play hard every time and tonight was that night. Every day in practice, Coach Butler is on us, telling us to go hard, even when we thought we were going hard. That kept us going.”
#12 Deana Allen, Jr., G
On her defensive contributions in Monday's game …
“I just try to give my team the most of me any chance I get to get out there on the court. I don't really too much worry about the minutes, when I get out there I try to give them a spark. Tonight, I just felt like a sisterhood and I think defense was really a key for us tonight. Besides hitting shots, defense is really what opened our game.”
ALABAMA STATE HEAD COACH FREDA FREEMAN-JACKSON
“It was a tough game for us. Florida was pretty athletic and for them being so long and lanky, it was very hard for our players to get anything done offensively or defensively because they were able to get to the basket. We tried multiple defenses and couldn't get anything done. I thought Florida did an excellent job as far as second-chance points. Against a SEC school, you almost have to play a perfect game in order to be victorious. We did not do that, so that's why we ended up with several big deficits. I thought Florida played extremely well - they shot the ball really well and they just played good ball.
On playing Texas A&M-Corpus Christi at 2 p.m. Tuesday …
“We need to forget that tonight's game even took place. We're going to have to forget about this game and get back to the drawing board and prepare our team for the next game.”
GAME 1: ROBERT MORRIS 73, TEXAS A&M-CORPUS CHRISTI 47
Yohanna Morton scored a career-high 15 points as one of four Robert Morris players in double-figure scoring to direct the Colonials to a 73-47 win against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Monday in the opening contest of the Gator Holiday Classic in the Stephen C. O'Connell Center.
Robert Morris (4-5), which is in the midst of a nine-game, 48-day road swing, shot 45.6 percent (26-of-57) from the floor in the game, while limiting the Islanders (0-9) to just 29.5 percent (18-of-61) from the field.
Mary Durojaye and Kristine Silaraja each added 14 points apiece for Robert Morris, while Artemis Spanou added 12 points and a game-high nine rebounds for the Colonials, who have now won four consecutive games after dropping their first five contests of the season.
Lauren Smith had a team-high 10 points for Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, while Ashley Darley chipped in eight points and a team-high five rebounds.
Robert Morris held a 43-35 rebounding edge in the game.
GATOR HOLIDAY CLASSIC SCHEDULE
MONDAY, DECEMBER 20, 2010
Robert Morris 73, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 47
Florida 95, Alabama State 38
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2010
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi vs. Alabama State – 2 p.m.
Robert Morris vs. Florida – 4:30 p.m.
