Florida Travels to Knoxville to Face No. 4 Tennessee on Thursday
Wednesday, February 9, 2011 | Women's Basketball
The Gators return to the road for their next two Southeastern games, beginning with Thursday's meeting against No. 4 Tennessee in Knoxville beginning at 7 p.m.
The game will be televised line on Sun Sports/FOX Sports Florida (Cox Channel 70/770 (HD) in Gainesville) with Dave Neal & Debbie Antonelli and the radio broadcast can be heard in Gainesville on WBXY-FM 99.5 and in Jacksonville on WXFJ-AM 930, as well as through the internet at www.GatorZone.com, the official website of the Florida Gators.
Thursday will be the second time Florida and Tennessee will play during the regular season, with the Lady Vols taking the 83-40 decision in Gainesville on Jan. 13.
Florida is 2-7 when playing on an opponent's home turf this season, but both victories have come against conference foes. The Gators had dropped their first five on the road before winning the 65-63 thriller at South Carolina on Jan. 9. Florida's second true road victory was a hard-fought 67-60 win at Mississippi State on Jan. 30.
Sixteen of UF's 25 games this year have been decided by 10 points or fewer, with 11 being six-point differences - most recently the 103-97 double-overtime heartbreaker against Vanderbilt on Feb. 6.
The last time the Gators took the floor, Florida overcame a 13-point second-half deficit and forced overtime against Vanderbilt on Feb. 6 in the O'Connell Center, before the Commodores finally took the 103-97 double-overtime win.
Tennessee played and won its first game in the month of February, defeating Kentucky, 73-67, in Lexington on Monday.
The Gators have just five regular-season games remaining before the SEC Tournament, held March 3-6 in Nashville.
Tennessee has looked every bit like the preseason favorite to win the league, having ripped through its Southeastern Conference schedule for a 10-0 league record and winning by an average of 25.4 points per game.
Tennessee holds a commanding 41-3 all-time lead in the 44-game series against Florida, which has lost four in a row to the Lady Vols since earning a 66-57 win in Gainesville on Feb. 8, 2009. The Gators have earned two wins at home (Feb. 8, 2009 and Jan. 21, 1997) and one in Knoxville (Feb. 26, 2006), where they became just the second unranked team ever to defeat the Lady Vols at home.
Jordan Jones leads the very balanced Gator scoring effort, recording 10.1 points per game, hitting a team-leading 52 three-pointers at a 37.1 percent clip and playing 33 minutes per outing.
Azania Stewart is Florida's leading rebounder with 6.1 per game and hits 53.9 percent field goal mark (Stewart led the SEC in field goal percentage last year, 61.9%). Her 46 blocked shots is also tops for the Gators and second in the SEC. Lanita Bartley is dishing 3.3 assists and 1.9 steals, while finding her way to the free throw a team-best 97 times.
During UF's last three games, sophomore forward Jennifer George is averaging a team-best 11.7 points and 9.3 rebounds, while hitting 68.2 percent (15-22) from the floor. Freshman guard Brittany Shine also has stepped up her game recently, averaging 11.0 points on 14-of-28 shooting in the Gator's last three contests.
Game Day Information
Florida Gators (14-11, 4-7 SEC) at the #4 Tennessee Lady Vols (22-2, 10-0 SEC)
Thursday, February 10, 2011 - 7 pm ET
Thompson-Boling Arena (21,678) - Knoxville, Tenn.
Game Coverage & More!
Radio: LIVE on WBXY-FM 99.5 “The Star” in Gainesville and WXFJ-AM (930) in Jacksonville called by Adam Schick and Brittany Davis
Internet Audio: LIVE thru www.GatorZone.com (FREE)
Internet Video: none
Television: LIVE on Sun Sports/FOX Sports Florida (Cox Channel 70/770 (HD) in Gainesville) with Dave Neal & Debbie Antonelli
