Women's Hoops Begins SEC Tournament vs. Arkansas on Thursday
Wednesday, March 2, 2011 | Women's Basketball
The University of Florida women's basketball team aims for its fourth consecutive win when it plays Arkansas on Thursday in the first round of the Southeastern Conference Tournament held at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville.
The game between the eighth-seeded Gators (17-13) and ninth-seeded Razorbacks (18-10) is scheduled to tip-off at 1 p.m. ET (Noon CT) and will be televised by FSN (SportsSouth, FS Southwest, SUN Sports), with streaming video available thru www.SECDigitalNetwork.com and at www.ESPN3.com. The radio broadcast airs live in Gainesville on WBXY-FM 99.5 and through the internet at www.GatorZone.com, the official website of the Florida Gators.
The winner of Thursday's game meets top-seeded and fourth-ranked Tennessee in the quarterfinals on Friday at 1 p.m. ET.
· WATCH interviews with Azania Stewart, Jordan Jones and Ebonie Crawford – FREE courtesy of GatorVision OnLine
· WATCH the interview with head coach Amanda Butler – FREE courtesy of GatorVision OnLine
Thursday's game against Arkansas will be the second meeting between the Gators and Razorbacks this season. The teams launched their respective SEC schedules in Gainesville, where the Gators upset then-No. 22 Arkansas, 64-53, handing the Razorbacks their first loss of the season.
Florida ended its regular season winning three consecutive SEC games and earned victories against Mississippi State (78-63 - its largest margin of victory in an SEC game this year), at Vanderbilt (74-69 - in Nashville, where the Gators last won on Feb. 1, 2004) and at home against No. 22-ranked Georgia (74-71 - stretching its home win streak vs. Georgia to a program-record three).
Florida holds a 15-30 all-time record in the SEC Tournament, reaching the championship game in 1997, the team's lone appearance in the final. Current UF head coach Amanda Butler was an assistant coach on the Gator staff that year.
The Gators lead the all-time series against the Razorbacks, 19-7, including a 2-1 display in SEC Tournament games. The last meeting at the league's postseason event, however, was in the 2001 quarterfinals where Arkansas knocked off second-seeded Florida, 78-69.
Junior guard Jordan Jones (Suwanee, Ga.) leads the balanced Gator scoring effort, recording 10.0 points per game, hitting a team-leading 60 three-pointers at a 37.0 percent clip and playing 32.8 minutes per outing.
Junior center Azania Stewart (Wood Green, England) is Florida's leading rebounder with 6.2 per game and hits 52.2 percent field goal mark (Stewart led the SEC in field goal percentage last year, 61.9%). Her 53 blocked shots is also tops for the Gators and second in the SEC.
Junior guard Lanita Bartley (Jacksonville, Fla.) is dishing 3.4 assists and 1.9 steals, while finding her way to the free throw a team-best 119 times.
During the last three games - all wins - Bartley has stepped up her game averaging 13.3 points, 5.7 rebounds and 5.3 assists, while shooting 60.9% overall (14-23) and 11-of-14 free throws.
In the last two games, Jones is averaging 17.0 points and 4.5 rebounds, while hitting 7-of-13 three-pointers (53.8%) and 11-of-22 overall (50.0%). She knocked down 18 points (6-12 FG, 3-6 3FG, 3-4 FT) in the upset win against No. 22 Georgia (Feb. 27) and led all scorers with 16 points in UF's upset win at Vanderbilt (Feb. 25), where she nailed 4-of-7 three-pointers and tied her career high of six rebounds.
Also during those last two games, Jaterra Bonds (Gainesville, Fla.), who was voted to the SEC All-Freshman Team, averaged 15.0 points, hitting 6-of-15 three-pointers (40%). She tossed in a career-high 22 points leading the Gators to its 74-71 upset victory against Georgia (Feb. 27).
Arkansas is led by junior guard C'eira Ricketts and sophomore center Sarah Watkins, both of whom were named second-team All-SEC, as Ricketts has contributed 14.0 points and 4.9 rebounds and Watkins 13.2 points and 5.6 boards.
Game Day Information
2011 SEC Tournament
#8 Seed Florida Gators (17-13, 7-9 SEC) vs. #9 Seed Arkansas (18-10, 6-10 SEC)
Thursday, March 3, 2011 * 1 p.m. ET (Noon CT)
Bridgestone Arena (17,576) - Nashville, Tenn.
Tournament Coverage & More!
Radio: all UF games 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: www.SECDigitalNetwork.com, ESPN3.com and ESPN Full Court
Television: First 2 Rounds on FSN (SportsSouth, FS Southwest, SUN Sports);
TV in Florida: Games 1 & 2 - Sun Sports (with Dave Neal & Carol Ross); Games 3 & 4 - Fox Sports Florida; Games 5-8 - Sun Sports; Semifinals games on ESPNU; Final on ESPN2
Bridgestone Arena Press Row: 615-770-2450
TV Satellite Feed/ XOS Digital XChange: footage will be put up on an FTP server by XOS; immediately following each GAME, highlights and B-roll will be available. Approximately an hour after each GAME, footage from each press conference will be available. For details (username and password) call the SEC Headquarters in Nashville at (615) 770-2234
Tickets: reserved tournament book, $90; general admission Dr. Pepper Six-Pack tournament book, $60; reserved single-session (six sessions total), $17; and general admission single-session, $12 (can only be purchased day of event at arena
