Four Florida players scored in double-figures, led by freshman guard Brittany Shine's (Sacramento, Calif.) career-high 16 points, to get back on the winning track with an 86-65 victory against Harvard on Tuesday evening in the Stephen C. O'Connell Center.
The Gators (8-2) shot a season-best 49.2 percent from the floor, while holding Harvard to just a 39.3 (22-of-56) percent from the floor in the game. Florida's 86 points were its most in a game since scoring 92 points against Alabama on Feb. 5, 2009, giving the Gators their biggest win of the 2010-11 season to date.
· WATCH the postgame interview with Coach Butler, Jaterra Bonds, Jennifer George and Brittany Shine – FREE courtesy GatorVision OnLine
“We had such a great response and showed so much resilience in the face of a big, disappointing loss,” Florida head coach Amanda Butler said. “I thought we had a champion's response yesterday in practice and certainly that carried over into our efforts tonight. We put together a really complete ball game and I thought we played very well at both ends. We certainly did not play perfectly at times, but we played very hard, with a lot of effort and for most of the ball game, with a lot of discipline. I think we saw a lot of growth in a lot of different areas and determination and things that make us a really good ball team. We just have to strive to have that same hunger, that same edge, that same feeling and that same confidence going forward.”
Shine's 16 points came on 6-of-10 shooting from the floor and included two three-pointers in 22 minutes of action. Sophomore forward Jennifer George (Orlando, Fla.) scored a season-high 13 points and added eight rebounds, while freshman guard Kayla Lewis (Decatur, Ga.) finished with 11 points and three assists in 21 minutes of play.
Freshman guard Jaterra Bonds (Gainesville, Fla.), who made her first career start for the Gators, tallied 11 points and added two rebounds, while freshman forward Deaundra Young (Titusville, Fla.) tied for the game high in rebounds with eight, while also adding six points.
The two teams battled evenly to begin the game until a three-pointer by Shine and a basket by Young gave Florida a 16-12 advantage at the 12:01 mark of the opening period. From there, the two squads again began trading baskets until back-to-back treys by Shine and junior guard Jordan Jones (Suwanee, Ga.) extended Florida's advantage to seven, 24-17, with 9:01 left in the half.
The Gators kept building their lead up to 11, 31-20, after a pair of free-throws by junior center Azania Stewart (Wood Green, England) at the 5:43 mark of the first period. Florida went ahead by its largest lead of the half at 16, 43-27, with 22 seconds remaining until intermission after three consecutive free throws by George.
The Gators took a 43-27 advantage into the locker room at intermission after shooting an impressive 48.4 (15-of-31) percent from the floor in the opening period. Harvard shot 47.6 (10-of-21) percent from the floor and Florida held a 19-15 rebounding advantage in the first half.
The Gators quickly opened the second half with back-to-back baskets by junior forward Ndidi Madu (Antioch, Tenn.) and Bonds to jump to a 20-point lead at 47-27. Florida kept building and went ahead by 21, 52-31, with 16:27 remaining in the game on a Bartley basket. The Crimson clawed back to cut within 15 points at 54-39 on a three-point play by Brogan Berry, but that would be as close as they would come. Florida led by as many as 33 points, 78-45, with 7:40 left in the game after a pair of Bartley free throws.
Harvard (4-3) was led by Berry's 15 points as one of four players in double-figure scoring.
Florida returns to action on Friday when it travels to Hampton, Va., to take on Hampton. Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m. ET and the game will be carried live on WBXY-FM 99.5 The Star.
POST-GAME NOTES
· Florida improves to 8-2 on the 2010 season, while Harvard drops to 4-3.
· The Gators improve to 3-0 all-time vs. the Crimson in the history of the two programs, as the two teams met for the first time since Nov. 24, 2000.
· The Gators improve to 5-0 at home this season and extend their streak of consecutive non-conference home wins to eight dating back to last season.
· Florida improves to 43-13 all-time at home under head coach Amanda Butler.
· The Gators' 19 assists in the game marked their most since tallying 19 against Florida International on Nov. 29, 2009.
· Freshman guard Jaterra Bonds made her first career start for the Gators.
· Freshman guard Brittany Shine charted a career-high 16 points, which led all scorers in Tuesday's game.
POST-GAME QUOTES
FLORIDA HEAD COACH AMANDA BUTLER
“We had such a great response and showed so much resilience in the face of a big, disappointing loss. I thought we had a champion's response yesterday in practice and certainly that carried over into our efforts tonight. We put together a really complete ball game and I thought we played both ends very well. Certainly not perfectly at times, but we played very hard, with a lot of effort and for most of the ball game, a lot of discipline. I think we saw a lot of growth in a lot of different areas and determination and things that make us a really good ball team. We just have to strive to have that same hunger, that same edge, that same feeling and that same level of confidence going forward.”
On putting Harvard away early …
“One of the things that was just a real strength of Harvard's was their second-half scoring. Leading up to this game, they were scoring like 60 percent of their offense in the second half. It was great for us to set that tone, but we knew by no means did we feel like they were put away. They've come back on a lot of different teams and in a lot of different circumstances. I think it gave us a lot of confidence and we saw that confidence carry from the first half into the second. The thing that I was proud of was that this was the first ball game that we had the lead, a double-digit lead in particular, where we then didn't relax and relinquish the lead. Again, just another area we are seeing some growth.”
On Florida's defensive pressure …
“We were pressuring the point guard. We weren't necessarily trying to full-court press. We wanted to keep her out of sync. We have a lot of respect for both guards. We just wanted them not to get into any sort of rhythm. All the pressure, especially in the second half, was all respect for knowing what they are capable of doing in a short amount of time they are an offensively potent team. We just didn't want to give them a crack and feel like there was any daylight.”
On Florida's defense setting up its offense in the game …
“The decision to start Lanita [Bartley] and Jaterra [Bonds] was a defensive decision. It wasn't that we're not going to play this person in the first five. We just really wanted to set a tone defensively. The staff in practice yesterday and the game plan today, wanted our defensive in particular, our man, to be very particular. We didn't play very good defense the other day [against Brown].”
FLORIDA PLAYERS
#23 Brittany Shine, G, Fr.
On being back on the court after being injured …
“I think it was more painful to sit out, than to have my injury. I've been itching to play for the past few games, so it felt good to be back.”
On if she was more inspired in her play after being out …
“I just try to help out the team however I can - getting the steals, getting the rebounds, scoring. I just want to be out there to help.”
HARVARD HEAD COACH KATHY DELANEY-SMITH
"I knew this was the kind of game we might see because they had a disappointing upset to our conference opponent Brown, which generally isn't at the top of the conference. I think that was a very disappointing loss and it couldn't have come at a worse time for us unfortunately."
On her impressions of Florida …
“They played exactly like I thought they would after coming off a disappointing loss, I thought it was a great team effort with their bench, and they are a deep team. They have an inside game and some nice outside shooters and they did a nice job tonight."
