Freshman Haley Lorenzen scored a team-high 14 points and a career-high tying eight rebounds, as she led the Florida women's basketball team (8-5) over the University of North Florida (7-6), 63-49, in UF's non-conference finale.
Lorenzen led a balanced Florida offensive attack that featured four Gators scoring in double-figures, including redshirt junior Cassie Peoples (12), freshman Brooke Copeland (11) and sophomore Ronni Williams (10).
Florida opened the scoring at the 19:49 mark of the first half on a Lorenzen turnaround jumper, but UNF responded quickly, as the first four-plus minutes of the game featured two ties and four lead changes.
The Ospreys grabbed a one-point lead (10-9) on a pair of Paulina Zaveckaite free throws with 16:33 left in the first half. The Gators answered emphatically with an 11-3 run capped off with a Copeland layup at the 12:07 mark.
The remainder of the half was back-and-forth and the Gators carried a 34-30 advantage into the locker room at intermission.
UF opened the second period on an 11-2 run capped off by a Dyandria Anderson free throw at the 12:37 mark. During that span, the Gators held the Ospreys to just 16.7% shooting from the field (1-of-6).
UNF was able to cut the Florida advantage to eight points (45-37) following a Brittany Wright jumper with 10:53 remaining in the contest, but that was as close as the Ospreys could get.
Florida grabbed 24 offensive rebounds and scored 25 second chance points off of those boards, which proved to be the defining factor in the contest.
Up Next:
The Gators launch their 2014 SEC slate playing host to LSU on Friday, January 2 at the O'Connell Center beginning at 7 p.m.
· Postgame Press Conference Video (FREE): Head coach Amanda Butler, redshirt junior Cassie Peoples and freshman Haley Lorenzen from GatorVision: http://www.gatorvision.tv/mediaPortal/player.dbml?id=3630800&db_oem_id=6500
· Game Video Recap (FREE): http://www.gatorvision.tv/mediaPortal/player.dbml?id=3630803&db_oem_id=6500
Updated Records:
· Florida: 8-5
· UNF: 7-6
Turning Point:
· After UNF grabbed a one-point lead (10-9) on a pair of Paulina Zaveckaite free throws at the 16:33 mark of the first half, the Gators answered emphatically with an 11-3 run capped off by a Brooke Copeland layup with 12:07 left in the half. UF never trailed for the remainder of the game.
Stat Line of the Game:
· Haley Lorenzen was the Gators' highest scorer of the day with 14 points on an efficient 58.3% (7-of-12) shooting from the field. She also grabbed a career-high tying eight rebounds.
Series Update:
· The Gators improved to 5-0 in the all-time series against UNF.
· Florida and UNF last met on Nov. 10, 2013, in Gainesville, with the Gators taking the victory, 88-77. Now-graduated Jaterra Bonds recorded a career-high 25 points and a career-high-tying nine assists along with seven rebounds, as she led a well-balanced Gator offensive attack that featured five Gators scoring in double-figures.
Numbers of Note:
· Florida won the rebounding battle over the Ospreys, 47-36, in today's contest. UF is now 6-3 this season when outrebounding its opponent.
· The Gators' bench contributed 26 points to UNF's six. Florida improved to a solid 7-4 when its bench outscores theirs.
· In the paint, Florida also came out on top, scoring 24 points while North Florida managed 14.
· UF scored 18 points off 24 Osprey turnovers.
Double-Figures:
· Haley Lorenzen (14), Cassie Peoples (12), Brooke Copeland (11) and Ronni Williams (10) all scored in double-digits for the Gators.
· Copeland earned her second double-digit scoring effort of the season.
· Lorenzen recorded her fourth double-figure scoring game of the season.
· Peoples notched her seventh double-digit scoring effort of the season and 24th of her career.
· Williams recorded her seventh double-figure scoring game of the season and 21st of her career.
Streaks:
· Cassie Peoples' three-pointer with 19:19 remaining in the first half marked the Gators' 144th consecutive game with a trey.
Individuals:
· Haley Lorenzen scored her 100th career point in the second half of today's game.
· Lorenzen snared a career-high tying eight boards.
· January Miller notched a season-high seven rebounds and four steals.
· Carlie Needles recorded her 550th career point and grabbed her 200th career rebound in the second half of today's contest.
· Cassie Peoples recorded a season-high tying five steals.
· Ronni Williams tied a season-high eight rebounds.
Numbers to Start:
· Haley Lorenzen tallied her 7th career start
· January Miller made her 31st career start
· Kayla Lewis recorded her 72nd career start and 45th consecutive as a Gator
· Carlie Needles appeared in the starting lineup for the 45th time in her career
· Cassie Peoples made her 37th start
Quotes from the Court:
UF Head Coach Amanda Butler
Opening Statement:
“UNF is a really solid team. Since I have been here, we have competed against them a lot and I think they have done a great job assembling the best team that I have seen since I have been here. They deserve a lot of credit and I think they are going to have a really successful conference season. I am really proud of most of our effort tonight. I think there were patches of the game where we lacked discipline, and that is what we focused on, and what we will continue to focus on. We are getting 75 percent right of what we are practicing, and I think this team knows that their potential lies in a much higher percentage than that. We had some great bright spots like Haley [Lorenzen's] play and Cassie [Peoples] doing a better job taking care of the ball. I thought January Miller played great minutes and that had nothing to do with scoring. I think that is fantastic growth for her. Those are the things that really excites me about the next phase and going into the conference schedule knowing that there is better basketball ahead of us.”
UF forward Haley Lorenzen
On her play in the post:
“I like playing with my back to the basket and we have a great group of posts, and we have a lot of diversity in that post group as well. I think Coach Paige and Coach Butler teach a lot of good things which has given me a lot of confidence.”
Next Game:
What: LSU (5-5) at Florida (8-5)
When: Friday, Jan. 2, 2014 at 7 p.m.
Where: Stephen C. O'Connell Center * Gainesville, Fla.
For all of the latest information on Florida women's basketball:
Official Website: www.gatorzone.com/basketball/women
Facebook: www.facebook.com/FloridaWomensBasketball
Twitter: @GatorZoneWBK and @CoachButlerUF
Instagram: @gatorzonewbk
