Gators Host Mississippi State Thursday in Regular-Season Home Finale
Thursday, February 23, 2012 | Women's Basketball
The University of Florida women's basketball team plays host to Mississippi State on Thursday at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center beginning at 7 p.m.
The Gators have compiled a 12-4 home record this season and sport a modest five-game home winning streak entering Thursday's game against the Lady Bulldogs, who are the under the direction of veteran coach Sharon Fanning-Otis, who announced on Monday that she will retire at the end of this season after 36 years in collegiate coaching.
Florida aims to build on the momentum of Sunday's 61-57 victory against No. 18/15 Georgia that evened the team's record to 7-7 in Southeastern Conference action. Following Thursday's game, the Gators have just one regular-season contest on its slate, traveling to Knoxville to play No. 10/9 Tennessee at Thompson-Boling Arena.
The Gators have won four of their last six games, as well as six of their last 10. Florida has lost those four games by a combined total of 15 points and all four of those setbacks have come on the road, with three against nationally ranked opponents (at Kentucky, at South Carolina and at Vanderbilt in OT) and the third in double-overtime versus recently-ranked Arkansas.
Ten of UF's 14 SEC games this season have been decided by six points or less, with 11 of 14 by decided by single digits.
Gator assistant coach David Lowery is a native of the Magnolia State and graduated from MSU in 2000 with a degree in secondary education. The Kosciusko, Miss., native worked with the Lady Bulldogs' basketball team during his time in Starkville, first as a manager and practice player, before getting his debut collegiate coaching experience as a graduate assistant during the 2000-01 season.
Over the last five games, senior Lanita Bartley has averaged 12.6 points, 6.2 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.4 steals. She converted 51.3 percent (20-39) overall from the floor, including a 54.5 percent (6-11) from the threepoint arc. In three of the last six games, Bartley has tallied a career-high three three-point field goals. The Gator point guard collected a career-high-tying 10 rebounds against Ole Miss (Feb. 5) and posted the first double-double of her career.
Junior forward Jennifer George continues to lead UF in scoring (12.9 ppg) and rebounding (9.0 rpg), an effort that also is second in the SEC (in SEC games and all games). She has posted 13 double-doubles this year - and 17 in her career.
Andrea Vilar? Aragon?s, Florida's only freshman competing during the 2011-12 season, posted back-to-back career scoring efforts against nationally-ranked opponents last week. She scored eight on the road at #24 Vanderbilt, before tallying 10 in the win against #18/15 Georgia, when she hit a pair of big three-pointers that sparked Gator runs. She also collected a career-high-tying four rebounds against the Lady Bulldogs.
Senior Jordan Jones has been doing a bit of everything for the Gators this year, contributing 111.2 points, in addition to 3.8 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.1 steals, while hitting 53-of-158 treys (33.5%).
Mississippi State also is led by a pair of upperclassmen, as seniors Porsha Porter and Diamber Johnson are two of the more talented guards in the league. Porter contributes 13.1 points and 6.0 rebounds, while leading the SEC in steals with 3.2 per game. Johnson, who recently topped the 1,000-career point plateau, is the SEC's third-leading scorer with 15.2 points per game, while dishing 3.9 assists, a mark that ranks fifth in the league. The Lady Bulldogs enter Thursday's game as the SEC's second-best team for field goal percentage defense and three-point defense.
Game Day Information
Florida Gators (17-10, 7-7 SEC) host the Mississippi St. Lady Bulldogs (14-13, 4-10)
Thursday, February 23, 2012 * 7 pm ET
Stephen C. O'Connell Center (11,373) - Gainesville, Fla.
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.GatorVision.tv (subscription required)
Television: none
Tickets: $5 for reserved seats; $4 adult general admission; $2 for youth age 17 and under; FREE for UF and Santa Fe students
Parking: FREE in the O'Connell Center parking lot
Opening Tip
*Thursday is UF's final regular-season home game of 2011-12
*MSU Coach Sharon Fanning-Otis announced on Monday her intent to retire at the end of the 2011-12 season ... she has coached 36 years and 1,065 games
*UF has played 52 games over the last three seasons decided by 10 points or less; 14 this year
*10 of UF's 14 SEC games have been decided by 6 points or fewer, with 11 of 14 being decided by single digits
*Florida is ranked No. 32 in NCAA's RPI Rankings and has a strength of schedule rated No. 10 (last updated Feb. 20, released every Monday)
*Jennifer George ranks No. 8 in the country in field goal percentage (55.7%) and No. 8 for double-doubles (13)
Additional Hoopla For Today's Game
Presenting sponsor: Gatorade, Dominos, SunTrust
*Gatorade Water Bottle Giveaway: The first 500 fans will receive Florida Women's Basketball water bottles courtesy of Gatorade.
*SunTrust Foam Finger Giveaway: The first 1,000 fans will receive Gator Basketball foam fingers courtesy of SunTrust.
*UF Club Sports Night: Challenge between all UF Club Sports to have as many members and friends attend game. The first place club will receive $500 and the runner-up will receive $250. National Championship UF Club teams will be honored in halftime ceremony. Check-in will be at Gate 2!
*Student-Athlete Night: All varsity teams will be encouraged to attend the game and support the Florida Women's Basketball team before they head into the SEC Tournament.
*Russian Bar Trio Halftime Performance: Join the Russian Bar Trio for an exhilarating halftime performance!
*Domino's Pizza Shoot-Out: One fan will win pizza for a year (2 Large Pizzas per Month) courtesy of Domino's Pizza!
*Bread Bites Giveaway: The first 500 fans that enter will receive coupons good for a free order of Domino's Pizza Parmesan Bread Bites!
