Women's Basketball Begins Final Regular-Season Stretch Thursday at No. 24 Vanderbilt
Wednesday, February 15, 2012 | Women's Basketball
Florida begins its final four-game regular-season stretch on Thursday traveling to Nashville to play Vanderbilt at Memorial Gymnasium, where the Commodores are 15-1 this season.
Tip-off is scheduled for 9 p.m. ET/8 p.m. CT and will be televised live on FOX SportsSouth, while the radio broadcast can be heard live in Gainesville on WBXY-FM 99.5 “The Star” and on 104.9-FM, as well as in Jacksonville on AM930 WFXJ. That audio also can be heard live thru the internet at www.GatorZone.com (FREE), while the streaming video is available through www.ESPN3.com.
Vanderbilt's lone home loss this year was a 65-60 overtime decision to South Carolina on Jan. 22. Since that setback, the Commodores have won their last three home games, including the 93-79 throttling of instate rival Tennessee on Feb. 9.
Florida is 5-6 away from the O'Connell Center this year, including a 3-5 record when playing on an opponent's home floor.
Florida has just four games remaining on its regular-season schedule and it's quite a final run, as three of its opponents sit ahead of the Gators in the SEC standings: Feb. 16 at #24 Vanderbilt (19-6, 7-5 SEC), Feb. 19 host #18/15 Georgia (19-6, 8-4 SEC), Feb. 23 host Mississippi State (14-11, 4-8 SEC) and Feb. 26 at #13/10 Tennessee (18-7, 9-3 SEC).
The Gators have won three of their last four games, as well as five of their last eight. Florida has lost those three games by a combined total of nine points and all three of those setbacks have come on the road, with two against nationally ranked opponents (Kentucky and South Carolina) and the third in double-overtime versus Arkansas (19-5, 8-4 SEC).
The 49-game series against Commodores is the fourth-longest against any opponent for Florida. Vanderbilt holds a 30-19 lead against Florida, including a 15-6 advantage in games played at Memorial Gym. Vanderbilt has won seven of the last eight games against the Gators, who halted an eight-game skid versus the Commodores with a surprising 74-69 victory last year in Nashville. Florida had not topped Vanderbilt in Nashville, since Jan. 11, 2004, when Florida won the 92-83 shoot-out.
“Memorial Gym is possibly the hardest place to play in the country and certainly in our conference,” UF head coach Amanda Butler said. “To have gone there before and won gets that monkey off your back a little bit. Does last year's success have any impact on what will happen Thursday? No, we will have to show up and play and know personnel and know our game plan and be ready to get Vanderbilt's best.”
Florida has not won back-to-back games against Vanderbilt since the 2003-04 season (winning on Jan. 11, 2004 and Feb. 1, 2004). Only once in program history have the Gators won consecutive road games against the Commodores, with the only time coming after the team earned a 66-65 win on Jan. 29, 1984 and a 61-56 victory on Feb. 2, 1985.
| SEC Standings & Remaining Games | |||
| School | SEC | Overall | Remaining Games |
| Kentucky | 10-2 | 21-4 | at AL, VU, SC, at MS |
| Tennessee | 9-3 | 18-7 | at MS, at UM, AR, UF |
| Georgia | 8-4 | 19-6 | at SC, at UF, UM, LS |
| Arkansas | 8-4 | 19-5 | LS, MS, at UT, at SC |
| South Carolina | 8-4 | 19-6 | UG, at AL, at UK, AR |
| Vanderbilt | 7-5 | 19-6 | UF, at UK, at LS, AL |
| LSU | 7-5 | 17-8 | at AR, AU, VU, at UG |
| Florida | 6-6 | 16-9 | at VU, UG, MS, at UT |
| Mississippi St. | 4-8 | 14-11 | UT, at AR, at UF, UK |
| Auburn | 3-10 | 11-15 | at LS, AL, UM |
| Ole Miss | 2-11 | 12-14 | UT, at UG, at AU |
| Alabama | 1-11 | 11-15 | KY, SC, at AU, at VU |
Redshirt senior Ndidi Madu and head coach Amanda Butler are natives of the Volunteer State. Butler hails from Mt. Juliet, located just 15 miles from Nashville. Madu is from Antioch, 10 miles from Nashville.
Four Commodores average a double-figure scoring effort, led by sophomore guard Christina Foggie's 18.1 points per game mark which leads all SEC players. Foggie also headlines all SEC shooters from long range, nailing a league-best 44.4 percent of her attempts, while averaging 2.9 treys. She converts an SEC-leading 85.4 percent of her free throws (82-96), too.
“Vanderbilt can do so much more than just shoot the three,” Butler said. “They have great post presence. Christina Foggie can shoot the three really, really well, but she can hurt you in a lot of different ways so I think we'd be making a big error by just worrying about the three-point line.”
Jasmine Lister averages an SEC-leading 5.8 assists per game with 11.9 points, while Tiffany Clarke and Stephanie Holzer both average 7.2 rebounds per outing, tied for fifth in the SEC, to accompany their 11.6 and 11.4 points per game averages, respectively.
“They are a little different this year in that they are more dynamic scorers,” Butler said. “When you have an individual like Foggie who is leading the conference, this conference, in scoring, it's obviously a demonstration that she's a smart basketball player. She doesn't have any physical limitations or things that prevent her from making plays in other ways. I think Vanderbilt is the best of what they've been in the past with a little more of an injection of athleticism and some very, very dynamic players.”
· WATCH COACH BUTLER'S Press Conference Previewing the Game – FREE courtesy of GatorVision Online
During Florida's recent three-game win streak, the top four leading scorers were seniors. Point guard Lanita Bartley averaged 15.3 points and a team-best 7.3 rebounds during that span, while connecting on 61.5 percent of her shots overall, including 7-of-12 three-pointers. Deana Allen averaged 9.7 points during those three games, followed by Azania Stewart's 9.3 ppg and Ndidi Madu's 9.0 ppg contributions.
Over the last four games, Bartley averaged 15.0 points, 6.8 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 2.2 steals. She converted 61.0 percent (25-41) overall from the floor, including a 58.8 percent (10-17) from the three-point arc. In three of the last five games, Bartley has tallied a career-high three three-point field goals. She's been UF's leading scorer in four of the last five games and has been the only Gator who has tallied a double-figure scoring during the stretch.
Junior forward Jennifer George continues to lead UF in scoring (12.7 ppg) and rebounding (9.1 rpg), an effort that also is second in the SEC (in SEC games and all games). She has posted an SEC-leading 13 double-doubles this year - and 17 in her career.
Senior Jordan Jones has been doing a bit of everything for the Gators this year, contributing 11.5 points, in addition to 3.8 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.1 steals, while hitting 50-of-149 treys (33.60%).
Florida has played 50 games over the last two-plus seasons with outcomes decided by 10 points or less, posting a 26-24 record in those tight ballgames. Twelve games fit into that category this year, including eight of UF's 12 SEC games this season have been decided by six points or less, with nine of 12 by decided by single digits.
Florida is 1-5 this year against nationally-ranked opponents, posting a 72-58 victory on Nov. 17 against Florida State, which checked in at No. 21 in the AP and No. 19 in the ESPN-Coaches poll, but losing to No. 11/12 Rutgers (63-49) on Dec. 2 at the Ocean Center in Daytona Beach, to No. 6 Kentucky (59-56) on Jan. 1 in Gainesville and 57-52 on Jan. 22 in Lexington, at No. 19/16 Georgia (61-55) and at No. 24 South Carolina on Feb. 12 (62-58).
Game Day Information
Florida Gators (16-9, 6-6 SEC) at the #rv/24 Vanderbilt Commodores (19-6, 7-5 SEC)
Thursday, February 16, 2012 * 9 pm ET
Memorial Gymnasium (14,316) - Nashville, Tenn.
Game Coverage & More!
Radio: LIVE on WBXY-FM 99.5 “The Star” and 104.9-FM in Gainesville and AM930 WFXJ in Jacksonville called by Adam Schick and Brittany Davis
Internet Audio: LIVE thru www.GatorZone.com (FREE)
Internet Video: LIVE on www.ESPN3.com
Internet Scoring: LIVE thru www.GatorZone.com (FREE)
Television: LIVE on FOX SportsSouth with Dave Neal and LaChina Robinson
Opening Tip
*UF has played 50 games over the last two-plus seasons decided by 10 points or less; 12 this year
*8 of UF's 12 SEC games have been decided by 6 points or fewer, with 9 of 12 being decided by single digits
*Florida is ranked No. 37 in NCAA's RPI ratings and has a strength of schedule rated No. 11 (last updated Feb. 12, released every Monday)
*Azania Stewart has blocked a shot in 24 consecutive games
*Jennifer George ranks No. 8 in the country in field goal percentage (56.5%) and No. 6 for double-doubles (13)
*Lanita Bartley has 5 straight double-figure scoring games, the longest active among Gators
