FFreshman Jennifer George (Orlando, Fla.) recorded her first career double-double and Florida attempted to overcome a feisty Alabama team and send its five seniors, Jennifer Mossor (Orlando, Fla.), Sharielle Smith (Bradenton, Fla.), Steffi Sorensen (Jacksonville, Fla.), Lonnika Thompson (New Orleans, La.) and Susan Yenser (Marietta, Ga.), out in a winning fashion.
The Crimson Tide, however, spoiled the party, taking down the Gators, 66-61, Sunday afternoon in a pivotal conference clash at the O'Connell Center in the last regular-season game for both teams.
“We are really disappointed,” UF head coach Amanda Butler said. “No disrespect to Alabama, but I thought with the intensity of our practices leading up to this game and the special day with our seniors, that the outcome would be different, especially our first-half play. We have to regroup, find an internal spark and get ready to play in the best conference tournament in America.”
George finished the night 5-of-12 from the field and 6-of-8 from the charity stripe en route to 16 points and 10 rebounds, while Sorensen pulled down nine rebounds to accompany nine points. Smith also added nine points to the efforts on Senior Day. The Gators used an all-senior starting lineup, comprising UF's 11th different starting combination this season, as well as its sixth in the last seven games.
“The starting lineup tonight was not only our five seniors, but it was the five players we felt were best fit to start the ballgame and set the tone,” Butler said. “We thought they could get us out of the gates quickly, and they didn't in either half. I am disappointed for them. As a coach, you have many more games like this and senior days to be a part of. As a player, you only get one and you want it to be perfect. I hate it for them, but we certainly hope that will fuel the fire for the conference tournament in Atlanta. It made my heart hurt. The seniors want to go out there with big smiles and tears of joy, not disappointment. It's difficult, but this celebration was about them, I just wish it could have been perfect.”
Florida (14-15, 7-9 SEC) capitalized on 19 steals, including six by Sorenson, to make a last-minute run in the second half to overcome the Tide's (12-17, 4-13 SEC) potent offense. Alabama jumped out of the gates after half time and extended its lead to 13. Both teams exchanged possessions, but 'Bama's 54.2 second-half field-goal percentage allowed the Tide to maintain control of the game with at least a 10-point lead for the first 14 minutes of the second half. With their full-court press in action, the Gators began to whittle away Alabama's lead.
Sorensen hit a jumper with just over six minutes left on the clock to fire up the crowd and bring the Gators within eight, Florida's closest margin since the 34-26 half time score. The Gators capitalized on a key turnover that sent George to the charity stripe and allowed UF to creep within seven, 57-50.
With just over three minutes remaining in the game, another basket by George pulled UF within three points, 57-54. However, three was the smallest deficit Florida would see in the final minutes. On the next play, Alabama worked through the Gator press and LaToya King ended 'Bama's four-minute scoring drought. Dedrea Magee would add four more points in the final few ticks as the Tide held on for the win.
George proved to be UF's spark in the first half, turning in eight points and two boards in the first 20 minutes. Despite the Crimson Tide committing 11 turnovers, it was able to go on 14-2 run and stretch the lead over UF to 22-8. At the 9:09 minute mark, Smith drained a three from the left side to give the Gators 11. After stopping the Tide on the ensuing possession, Florida pushed the floor and fed the ball down low to George, who drew the foul and sank both shots from the line to continue the Florida scoring, which narrowed the margin, 22-13.
After the eight-minute media timeout, the Gators regrouped and came out in a full-court press. Thompson swiped the ball and fed it to sophomore Jordan Jones (Suwanee, Ga.) in transition to give UF some momentum. Alabama fouled to prevent the easy basket and Jones made the most of the opportunity at the line, adding two more points. When the Tide brought the ball down court, Jones read 'Bama point guard Magee's eyes, intercepted the pass and took the ball down court, dishing to Sorensen for a trey to bring the Gators within five, 25-20. Another steal by Sorensen capped off with a layup by George narrowed the Alabama margin, 25-22.
With its lead diminishing, Alabama reasserted itself by sinking a three and two layups on its next three possessions to take a 34-26 half time advantage.
Magee led Alabama in scoring with 13 points, while forward Tierney Jenkins pulled down a team-high seven boards for the Crimson Tide.
“I talked to the team before the game and told them that it would be a giant step for the program if we could come out here and win another game on the road going into the SEC tournament,” Alabama head coach Wendell Hudson said. “It took getting rebounds and loose balls, but we did that and it was a big win.”
Florida returns to action on Thursday, March 4, when the Gators will travel to compete in the 2010 Southeastern Conference Tournament, held at The Arena at Gwinnett Center in Duluth, Ga. UF's seed and opening round foe will be determined later this evening.
POST-GAME NOTES
· The Gators used an all-senior starting lineup against Alabama with Jennifer Mossor, Sharielle Smith, Steffi Sorensen, Lonnika Thompson and Susan Yenser
· The quintet of senior starters was UF's 11th starting combination this season, its sixth in the last seven games
· For Mossor and Yenser, the Senior Day starts were their fourth and sixth starts, respectively, this season
· The team leader in rebounds the last five games and the SEC's top freshman blocker, Jennifer George's 16 points and 10 rebounds gave her the first double-double of her career
· The Gators now own an 11-7 record in the O'Connell Center versus the Crimson Tide
· The active scoring leader on the team, senior Sharielle Smith scored nine points against Alabama bringing her career points total to 877
· Smith also played in her 122nd career game, UF's active team leader in the category
· The Gators out-rebounded the Crimson Tide, which ranked second in the league in offensive rebounds entering the game, 41-34
· The five-point deficit between UF and Bama marked the Gators' 14th game this season decided by fewer than 10 points. The Gators are 7-7 in the 10-point contests
· Eleven of UF's 16 SEC games have been decided by single digits and Florida is 7-4 in those tight league games
POST-GAME QUOTES
Florida Head Coach Amanda Butler
Opening statement:
“We are really disappointed. No disrespect to Alabama, but I thought with the intensity of our practices leading up to this game and the special day with our seniors, that the outcome would be different, especially our first-half play. We have to regroup, find an internal spark and get ready to play in the best conference tournament in America.”
On closing the gap in the second half:
“We got some good looks, but in the last minute and a half we had to force some, but wed did get some good looks. We felt like they were a screenable team, we knew we had to convert and we didn't do a good job of that. We just weren't sharp with the ball and we gave them opportunities to capitalize on.”
On the starting senior lineup:
“The starting lineup tonight was not only our five seniors, but it was the five players we felt were best fit to start the ballgame and set the tone. We thought they could get us out of the gates quickly, and they didn't in either half. I am disappointed for them. As a coach, you have many more games like this and senior days to be a part of. As a player, you only get one and you want it to be perfect. I hate it for them, but we certainly hope that will fuel the fire for the conference tournament in Atlanta. It made my heart hurt. The seniors want to go out there with big smiles and tears of joy, not disappointment. It's difficult, but this celebration was about them, I just wish it could have been perfect.”
On Steffi Sorensen:
“I could talk about Steffi all year long. She is a great teammate. The consistency with which she performs is a tribute to her, her parents and the way she was brought up. I hope we have many more Steffi's in the future.”
Florida senior Steffi Sorensen
On senior day:
“My basketball career has certainly been a journey. It made it really hard to go out there and see your coaches and teammates when they are standing there honoring you. It's something you don't really think about. This has been a blessing and I never imagined I'd be here. I love Coach Butler, the coaching staff and my teammates. This year has been a roller coaster and I walked out there with a bunch of different emotions. This game will definitely be fuel for our fire and we'll enter the SEC Tournament ready to fight. I'm from Jacksonville, so I had a lot of friends and family here. It's and honor to wear a Florida jersey and I take pride in that. My career here is something I'll never forget.”
Alabama Head Coach Wendell Hudson
On the contest with the Gators:
“I talked to the team before the game and told them that it would be a giant step for the program if we could come out here and win another game on the road going into the SEC tournament. It took getting rebounds and loose balls, but we did that and it was a big win.”
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