Florida and Florida State Meet on Tuesday in Tallahassee
Monday, December 27, 2010 | Women's Basketball
Florida meets Florida State on Tuesday in Tallahassee in the annual intrastate rivalry game involving the two school's women's basketball teams. Tip-off from the Donald L. Tucker Center is scheduled for 7 p.m., ET and the radio broadcast of the game airs live in Gainesville on WBXY-FM 99.5 and through the internet at www.GatorZone.com.
The Seminoles (9-3) are ranked No. 22 in the Dec. 20 Associated Press Poll and No. 20 in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches' Poll and are the first ranked opponent the Gators are facing this season.
· WATCH Coach Butler, Brittany Shine and Azania Stewart preview the game and more! – FREE courtesy GatorVision OnLine
Florida (10-3) last played and defeated Robert Morris 70-50 in the championship game of its own Gator Holiday Classic on Dec. 21. UF defeated Alabama State 95-38 in the first round, marking the first time this season the Gators had led a game wire-to-wire, which they also did against Robert Morris the following evening.
Freshmen Brittany Shine and Jaterra Bonds collected a spot on the All-Tournament Team, with Shine named Most Outstanding Performer after totaling 47 points and 10 assists in the two games.
The nationally-ranked Seminoles won their first seven games of the year, as well as 10 of their first 11, before being tripped up at Yale (91-85) and facing the daunting task of playing at top-ranked Connecticut on Dec. 21, falling 93-62 in the Huskies' historic 89th consecutive win that broke the UCLA men's basketball team's collegiate mark for straight victories.
FSU's starting lineup is a veteran and talented one, featuring a pair of seniors and one junior, as well as one of the nation's top freshmen in Natasha Howard.
The Gators will have their work cut out for them, as the Seminoles' two starting frontcourt mates stand 6-foot-4 (Cierra Bravard) and 6-foot-3 (Howard), instrumental in helping FSU dominate the boards this season, carrying a +12.1 rebounding margin entering Tuesday's game.
“We have a lot of respect for Florida State,” UF head coach Amanda Butler said. “They are a fantastic rebounding team. They have great size. They are bigger than we are at every position and that poses some definite challenges. They are very well coached. They are a great offensive team and have good balance with every player looking to score.
“Courtney Ward (senior) is the best point guard we will have faced so far and there are a lot of different things to concern and challenge us,” Butler continued. “We haven't had a lot of time together since everyone returned from the Christmas break. We've tried to squeeze in as much preparation for Florida State as we could. We've tried to get our legs back under us and continue the flow that we had prior to the break.”
Florida is 0-3 when playing on an opponent's home turf this season, falling 74-73 at DePaul, 56-50 at Brown and 69-54 at Hampton.
This is the Gators' final non-conference game of the year and begins Southeastern Conference action on Sun., Jan. 2 playing host to No. 25 Arkansas.
The 67-game series, which the Gators lead 40-26, is the longest in Florida's 37-year history, which began its varsity program in the 1974-75 season. While the Gators hold the edge in the all-time record, the Seminoles have won five of the last seven meetings, including three of the last four contests. Florida did, however, capture the last meeting in Tallahassee, a 72-57 victory on Nov. 23, 2008.
Redshirt junior Jordan Jones (Suwanee, Ga.) is the only Gator averaging a double-figure scoring effort, recording 10.8 points per game, hitting a team-leading 25 three-pointers and playing 33.3 minutes per outing. She missed the last two games because of a concussion she received during practice on Dec. 18 and is listed as day-to-day.
Junior center Azania Stewart (Wood Green, England) is Florida's leading rebounder with 7.0 per game and also leads the club with a 53.4 percent field goal mark. Her 19 blocked shots are second behind Jennifer George's 23 swats.
Junior newcomer Lanita Bartley (Jacksonville, Fla.) is dishing 3.8 assists and 2.1 steals, while finding her way to the free throw a team-best 49 times.
In the last three games, Shine is averaging 17.3 points, hitting 7-of-16 from the three-point arc (43.8%) and 20-of-41 overall (48.8%). En route to racking up 52 points during the trio of games was her 28-point outburst against Alabama State, 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.
Tuesday is Florida's final non-conference game, as the Gators begin league action on Sunday, Jan. 2, playing host to No. 25 Arkansas in the O'Connell Center starting at 1 p.m.
Game Day Information
Florida Gators (10-3) at the #22/20 Florida State Seminoles (9-3)
Tuesday, December 28, 2010 - 7 pm ET
Donald L. Tucker Center (12,100) - Tallahassee, Fla.
Pregame Notes
Game Coverage
Radio: LIVE on WBXY-FM 99.5 “The Star” in Gainesville, called by Adam Schick and Brittany Davis
Internet Audio: LIVE thru www.GatorZone.com (FREE)
Internet Video: LIVE thru www.seminoles.com/allaccess (fee-based)
Television: None
Live Internet Scoring: link thru www.GatorZone.com (FREE)
Tickets: $3.00
