Following a sluggish start by both squads, sophomore Ronni Williams elevated the Gators to a 91-46 victory over Longwood on Monday evening at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center, improving Florida's record to 2-0 on the young season.
With UF trailing, 10-8, at the 12:35 mark of the first half, Williams scored 13 of her 19 points during the hosts' 16-2 run that spanned 2:50. The 19 points on perfect shooting (8-for-8 FG, 3-for-3 FT) tied a career high for the sophomore, and her first-half offensive outburst proved to be the spark Florida needed, as the Gators never trailed again the rest of the way.
Four other Gators joined Williams in double figures, as redshirt junior Carlie Needles (15 points), redshirt senior Cassie Peoples (12 points), junior January Miller (10 points) and junior Carla Batchelor (10 points) helped propel UF to a blowout win in front of its home crowd. UF enjoyed a 54-22 advantage inside of the paint and forced 27 turnovers.
Florida's offense found its rhythm in the first half, going 16-of-28 from the field (.571), and its defense harassed the Lancers into shooting 8-for-30 (.267). The hot shooting continued in the second half, as Florida expanded its 24-point halftime lead with 48 more points on 19-of-34 shooting (.559). In total, Florida shot 56.5 percent from the field, going 35-for-62 from the floor.
The Gators again helped their cause at the charity stripe, converting on 17-of-20 opportunities. The Orange and Blue had connected on 13 of its final 14 attempts to defeat Jacksonville in its season opener.
Next up, Florida heads to Queens, N.Y., for its first road trip of the season against St. John's (1-0). Tip on Thursday is scheduled for 7 p.m.
Postgame Press Conference Video (FREE): Head Coach Amanda Butler, Carlie Needles and Ronni Williams from GatorVision: http://www.gatorvision.tv/mediaPortal/player.dbml?id=3542291&db_oem_id=6500
SEC Network + Recap Video: http://www.gatorvision.tv/mediaPortal/player.dbml?id=3541944&db_oem_id=6500
Turning Point: After Longwood grabbed a two-point lead (10-8) at the 12:35 mark of the first half, the Gators went on a 10-0 run, capped off by a three-point play by Ronni Williams. UF never trailed the remainder of the game.
Stat Line of the Game: Ronni Williams recorded 19 points (on 8-of-8 shooting from the field and 3-for-3 from the free-throw line), with five rebounds and two steals.
Series Update:
· Monday marked the first-ever meeting between the Gators and Lancers
Gator Debut:
· Carla Batchelor: Entered the game for first time at 5:24 mark of the second half and played a total of five minutes. Batchelor made her first basket at the 4:36 mark of the second half with a three-pointer on a pass from Carlie Needles. She finished the game with 10 points (including 4-of-4 shooting from the field), one block and one steal.
Numbers of Note:
· 0% - UF swarmed the three-point line on defense in the first half and held the Lancers to 0-of-10 shooting
· 32% - The Gators held Longwood to 18-of-57 (.316) shooting from the field in the contest
· The Gators went into the locker room with a 24-point lead, 43-19. UF went 16-3 last season when ahead at halftime
· Florida is now 9-1 under Amanda Butler when scoring in the 90's
· UF improved to 86-30 when wearing its all-white uniforms under Amanda Butler
Double-Figures:
· Ronni Williams (19), Carlie Needles (15), Cassie Peoples (12), Carla Batchelor (10) and January Miller (10) all scored in double-figures for the Gators
Streaks:
· Florida has won 24 of its last 25 home games versus non-conference foes
· Carlie Needles connected on a three-pointer at the 9:37 mark of the first half, extending the Gators' consecutive games with a trey streak to 133
INDIVIDUALS
· Kayla Lewis made her 63rd career start and 35th consecutive as a Gator
· Lewis notched her 800th career point on a jumper at the 7:04 mark of the second half
· Carlie Needles recorded her 35th career start
· Needles eclipsed 450 career points when she drained her second triple of the game at the 6:35 mark of the first half
· Needles also set a single-game career high for rebounds, as she grabbed eight boards
· Cassie Peoples made her 27th career start
· Antoinette Bannister notched her second career start at UF
· Bannister crossed the 150-point barrier in her career when she scored on a layup at the 6:27 mark of the second half
· Ronni Williams recorded her 19th career start
· Williams tied a career-high in points (19) and set a career-high in field goals made (8)
· Viktorija Dimaite scored her first career points with 1:30 remaining in the game on a layup from Brooke Copeland
Quotes from the Court:
Florida Head Coach Amanda Butler
Opening statement:
“[It was a] great team win. Longwood kept Wake Forest to a 4-point ballgame before this, so they had our attention. We wanted to go out, be aggressive, attack and have a much more consistent defense effort and I thought we did that. I was really proud to be able to hold a team that had just scored 60 points a couple of nights ago into the 40 [point range]. It's significant. I was really proud of the intensity and consistency of our defense for the entire 40 minutes. There were some great individual performances and some really efficient offensive work by our players and that is great to see heading into a tough place to play like St. John's.”
On the Gators' defensive performance:
“Playing great defense is a little bit like shooting the ball. When you see a team make a couple of shots, sometimes that's contagious. We had some individuals that made some great defensive plays, got some tips, run-outs and some easy points. That kind of play became contagious. That's certainly what we challenged the team to do: to step up and be a better defensive unit and to take pride in establishing themselves in Hector [the defense].”
Sophomore G/F Ronni Williams
On the Gators' defense, helped by “Hector”:
“Hector is supposed to be crazy. It is supposed to feel like six people are on the floor instead of five. When we get tips or get our hands on the ball, that is a run out for a transition that should be another two extra points for us on our end.”
Redshirt Junior G Carlie Needles
On leading the team in rebounds:
“I'm small, so it is a little bit harder to get a rebound like Ronni [Williams] or Kayla [Lewis] can, but I always try to fly by and get those outside rebounds. I try to get the rebounds that bounce off the basket and use my little body to surprise people. I am trying to be a better impact on the guards and I hope I continue to do that for the team.”
Longwood Head Coach Bill Reinson
On the defensive pressure brought by the Gators:
“Well, we had some issues with our point guards today. I think they struggled a little with the pressure of being a point guard. I look at it a little differently than they do. They see big players, athletic players and all of a sudden they think there's pressure when there's really not.”
On Longwood's weaknesses:
“Today, we only gave up eight (offensive rebounds). But, then again, Florida didn't miss many shots. We didn't pass-fake well, and we tried to throw the ball over the top, but it got tipped and that kind of went over us.”
Next Game:
What: Florida (2-0) at St. John's (1-0)
When: Thursday, Nov. 20, 2014 at 7 p.m.
Where: Carnesecca Arena * Queens, N.Y.
Game Coverage & More!
· Radio: LIVE on ESPN850 (WRUF-AM) in Gainesville with Adam Schick & Brittany Davis
· Internet Audio: LIVE thru www.GatorZone.com (FREE)
· Television: none
· Internet Video: LIVE on BIG EAST Digital Network
· Internet Scoring: GameTracker
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