Women's Hoops Plays Regular-Season Finale At Tennessee Sunday At 3:30 p.m. (ESPNU)
Saturday, February 25, 2012 | Women's Basketball
The Gators travel to Knoxville and close out their regular season battling No. 10/9-ranked Tennessee on Sunday at Thompson-Boling Arena beginning at 3:30 p.m.
The game, which will be Florida's ninth meeting against a nationally-ranked opponent this year, will be televised live nationally on ESPNU, while live streaming video will be available through www.ESPN3.com. The radio broadcast can be heard live in Gainesville on WBXY-FM 99.5 “The Star” and 104.9-FM and in Jacksonville on AM930 WFXJ, with the audio also available online at www.GatorZone.com, the official website of the Florida Gators.
There will be a combined total of 10 seniors in the lineup for Sunday's game - five from both teams.
For the Gators, Deana Allen, Lanita Bartley, Jordan Jones, Ndidi Madu and Azania Stewart will be playing the final regular-season game of their careers, while Briana Bass, Alicia manning, Vicki Baugh, Glory Johnson and Shekinna Stricklen suit up for the final time in Thompson-Boling Arena.
· CHECK OUT GATORZONE.COM WRITER CHRIS HARRY'S TAKE ON SUNDAY'S GAME
“First and foremost, you expect this to be a great basketball game,” UF head coach Amanda Butler said. “For us, going to Knoxville and playing such a talented team on such a special night, you know there's going to be a lot of energy and a lot of emotion and lot of people. That's going to be exciting and we're going to have to feed off that excitement. More than anything, we've got to go in there with a lot of confidence - confidence about our preparation with a little bit of momentum coming from the week that we've had. We have to have absolute certainty about the things we need to do to win, how we need to play, how hard we need to play, respect for how good they are and how well coached they are. We need to make what Florida's doing more important than what Tennessee is doing.
“She is the greatest coach in the history of ever – that's how I've always described her,” Butler said of Tennessee coach Pat Summitt. “She has been THE representative of our sport – thankfully. She has put all of us, collectively, in a spotlight that maybe wouldn't have happened as quickly if it wasn't for Pat Summitt. So there is a tremendous amount of attention on them, good, bad, indifferent or fantastic.”
The Southeastern Conference's top two rebounders will be on the floor during Sunday's game. UT senior Glory Johnson leads the league with 9.3 per game, while UF junior Jennifer George (Orlando, Fla.) collects 8.9 per outing, the second-highest average. George is the SEC's top offensive rebounder (3.9 orpg), while Johnson headlines league performers with 6.0 defensive boards per game. Those two post players rank within three spots of each other in a few other statistical categories, including scoring, field goal percentage and blocked shots.
“I think that's going to be a great battle,” Butler said of the matchup between George and Johnson. “Every year, Glory is either the best player in our conference or top-three player in our conference. The impact she has as a rebounder is a giant part of that. She's a phenomenal athlete. She works really hard in the paint. She doesn't really try and do anything outside of what she's best at. She is one of the best Jennifer will ever play against as a rebounder.”
The Gators have won five of their last seven 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. Nine of the team's 10 losses this season have been by six points or less.
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.
Tennessee holds a commanding 43-3 all-time lead in the 46-game series against Florida, which has lost six in a row to the Lady Vols since earning a 66-57 win in Gainesville on Feb. 8, 2009. UT won all three meetings last year, taking both regular-season meetings and the SEC Tournament quarterfinal decision. 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.
Junior forward Jennifer George continues to lead UF in scoring (12.9 ppg) and rebounding (8.9 rpg), an effort that also is second in the SEC (in SEC games and all games). George also has a team-high 20 double-figure scoring games.
Senior Jordan Jones has been doing a bit of everything for the Gators this year, contributing 11.4 points, in addition to 3.8 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.1 steals, while hitting 59-of-170 treys (34.7%). Jones had converted at least one three-point attempt in 11 consecutive games before going 0-3 from beyond the arc against South Carolina on Jan. 8. That was her career third double-digit streak of converting three-pointers in a game, having already notched runs of 23 and 16.
Since missing against the Gamecocks, Jones has hit from long range in 11 straight games - the fourth double-figure streak of her career. In Florida's most recent game – a 79-45 win against Mississippi State on Feb. 23 – Jones tied her Gator career-high by nailing 6-of-12 from beyond the arc.
Jones is looking forward to playing one last game in Thompson-Boling Arena.
“We're expecting an unbelievable environment in Knoxville on Sunday,” Jones said. “Most of us are use to it having played there the last three years. Andrea (Vilar? Aragon?s, UF's lone freshman) might be a little shocked by it, but we'll share our experiences with her about it as much as we can. It's a huge game for us to continue to build our postseason resume. It's a big game for them because it's Senior Night and we have to be ready. Everyone's eyes will be on this game and it's our chance to show everyone in the country what we can do.”
Game Day Information
Florida Gators (18-10, 8-7 SEC) at the #10/9 Tennessee Lady Vols (20-8, 11-4 SEC)
Sunday, February 26, 2012 * 3:30 pm ET
Thompson-Boling Arena (21,678) - Knoxville, 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
Television: LIVE on ESPNU with Adam Amin and Kayte Christensen
Opening Tip
*Sunday is both teams final regular-season game of 2011-12
*a total of 10 seniors will be playing their regular-season finale - 5 on each team
*UF has played 52 games over the last three seasons decided by 10 points or less; 14 this year
*10 of UF's 15 SEC games have been decided by 6 points or fewer, with 11 of 15 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. 10 in the country in field goal percentage (55.6%) and No. 13 for double-doubles (13)
