Gators Meet No. 10 Kentucky in Lexington Thursday

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Florida travels to Lexington and plays No. 10/11 Kentucky at Memorial Coliseum on Thursday at 7 p.m. ET. The game is the Gator's first this year against a nationally-ranked team (at the time of tip-off).

Florida and Kentucky: The Series

47-Game Series: Kentucky leads 25-22
UF at Home: 12-9; Away: 9-13; Neutral: 3-4
UF has won 2 of last 3 vs. UK, but Wildcats have won 7 of last 9 games
in the three games played last year, there were a combined total of 26 lead changes and 12 tied scores
UF's win in Lexington last year was its first on the Wildcat's home court since Feb. 10, 2005, that halted a six-game slide on the road

Last 5 Meetings:

Mar. 2, 2012: No. 10/9 Kentucky 71, Florida, 67 (SEC Tournament, Nashville)
Jan. 3, 2013: No. 6 Kentucky 76, Florida 69 (A)
Jan. 5, 2014: Florida 83, No. 6 Kentucky 73 (A)
Feb. 9, 2014: Florida 86, No. 15/13 Kentucky 80 (H)
March 7, 2014: No. 14/15 Kentucky 75, Florida 70 (SEC Tournament, Duluth, Ga.)

Last 5 Meetings in Lexington:

Jan. 10, 2008: Kentucky 60, Florida 58
Feb. 18, 2010: No. 16 Kentucky 77, Florida 51
Jan. 22, 2012: No. 6 Kentucky 57, Florida 52
Jan. 3, 2013: No. 6 Kentucky 76, Florida 69
Jan. 5, 2014: Florida 83, No. 6 Kentucky 73

Here They Come...

Thursday's game is the first this season for the Gators against a nationally-ranked opponent.
Florida next plays host to No. 1-ranked South Carolina on Monday at 7 p.m.
Including Thursday's outing at Kentucky, 7 of UF's next 12 games are versus foes currently ranked in the top-25.
UF was 3-6 last year vs. ranked opponents, with two of those victories coming against Kentucky.

Gator Watch

Thanks to her 15-point outburst against Ole Miss (Jan. 8), sophomore Ronni Williams regained her spot atop UF's scoring chart.
Williams is averaging 10.2 points, while converting 49.2 percent from the floor and blocking 10 shots.
Lone senior Kayla Lewis patrols the paint for UF, collecting 7.2 rebounds per game, along with 9.4 points and hitting a team-leading 53.5 percent from the floor
Cassie Peoples leads the Gators in assists (66) and steals (42). She had led the team in scoring until the Jan. 8 home loss to Ole Miss, when she scored 7 points.

A Gator Win today...

Would be Head Coach Amanda Butler's 150th win with the Gators, as well as the 190th of her career.
The Gator's first back-to-back wins in Lexington against Kentucky since earning road wins on Jan. 3, 1999 and Jan. 7, 2001.

Circle the Wagons

Both teams recently lost more than just a game.
Florida lost two players to injury during the loss to Ole Miss (Jan. 8): Antoinette Bannister (knee) and Carlie Needles (concussion) and neither were available for the team's next game (at Missouri, Jan. 11)
Kentucky lost point guard Janee Thompson - the only Wildcat who had started every game this year - to a graphic leg injury in the team's loss at No. 1 South Carolina (Jan. 11).
While Thompson is out for the season, Needles, who left the Ole Miss game with 15:08 remaining and shares point guard duties with Cassie Peoples, is listed as 'day-to-day' and is expected to be available before the end of the season.
After missing the three previous games because of a concussion, Bannister played three minutes (13:28 remaining in first half) against Ole Miss before suffering a grade 1 sprain of her right MCL. Her return to the court has not been determined.

Quick Scout: Kentucky

Kentucky boasts the SEC's third-most potent offense (77.3 points per game) and ranks second among league teams in turnover margin (+7).
Individually, senior Azia Bishop ranks second (all games) for blocked shots (1.9 pg) and senior Jennifer O'Neill is tied-for-fifth in scoring (14.8 ppg).

Kentucky Team Ties

Kentucky head coach Matthew Mitchell was an assistant coach at Florida for three years (2000-03), serving under former head coaches Carol Ross and Carolyn Peck. The Gators were 51-36 during his three-year stay in Gainesville, where he met his future wife Jenna.

Preseason Predictions

Florida was picked during the preseason by the SEC coaches and media to finish ninth in the 14-team league standings.
Kentucky was selected fourth in both polls.

Who's Hot

Since suffering a high ankle sprain during the game at St. John's (Nov. 20), Ronni Williams is finally back in the groove.
In the last five games, the sophomore post is averaging a team-leading 12.4 points with 6.6 rebounds, while hitting 46 percent from the floor.
She has also converted a steady 80 percent (16-20) from the free throw line during the five-game span.
Her Kryptonite, however, has been turnovers, where she has committed 17 with zero assists during the span.

Ouch!

In UF's most recent game - a 66-47 road loss to Missouri on January 11 - the Gators:
- scored a season-low 47 points;
- shot a season-low 23 percent (14-61)
- hit just 4-20 three-pointers
- allowed a season-high-tying 9 treys
- were out-rebounded by 11
- AND led at halftime, 24-22

Stat Row:

Florida

Points Per Game: 66.6
Scoring Defense: 61.0
Scoring Margin: +5.6
Rebounding Margin: +2.4
FG%: 41.0%
3FG%: 30.7%
FT%: 70.6%

Gator Leaders

Scoring: R. Williams, 10.2
Rebounding: K. Lewis, 7.2
Assists: C. Peoples, 3.9

Kentucky

Points Per Game: 77.3
Scoring Defense: 67.8
Scoring Margin: +9.5
Rebounding Margin: +0.6
FG%: 40.1%
3FG%: 28.0%
FT%: 63.7%

Wildcat Leaders

Scoring: O'Neill, 14.8
Rebounding: Harper, 6.6
Assists: Epps, 2.9

Quotes from the Court:

Head Coach Amanda Butler, Monday Press Conference Video: http://www.gatorzone.com/story.php?id=29500

On the challenging week of playing two nationally-ranked opponents:

“It's like any other challenge we have in the SEC. South Carolina is No. 1 in the country. That's great. Kentucky is No. 10. Those two guys smashed up last night (Jan. 11) in a really, really tough battle. Kentucky is one of the best teams in the country, as well. It's not any different than playing Missouri or playing Auburn, who is not in the top 10. You know it's going to be a battle against a talented, well-coached team. What matters is that you bring your best. Certainly, this is going to be a huge challenge, especially going to Kentucky. They draw (attendance) well. (Coach Mitchell) Matthew's built a great environment there. We have to make sure we are ready to compete.”

Redshirt Senior Kayla Lewis, Tuesday Media Session Video: http://youtu.be/ZLo8-Nl_rYc

GameDay Data:

Florida (9-8, 1-3 SEC) at #10/11 Kentucky (14-3, 3-1 SEC)
Memorial Coliseum (8,000) * Lexington, Ky.
Thu., January 15, 2015 * 7 p.m. ET

Game Notes (PDF):

Florida – http://www.gatorzone.com/basketball/women/stats/notes/pre/20150115190000.pdf
Kentucky – http://www.ukathletics.com/sports/w-baskbl/kty-w-baskbl-body.html

Opening Tip

each of last 8 games in series has been decided by 10 points or less with 9 of last 10 by 7 points or fewer
in conference games, UF ranks No. 1 in steals per game (13.8 pg), No. 3 in free throw percentage (71.4%) and No. 4 in turnover margin (+2.0)
UF won both regular-season games vs. UK last year, but the Wildcats won the 2014 SEC Tournament quarterfinal battle
Last year, 10 of the Gators' 16 SEC games were decided by eight points or less. UF is 0-2 this year in those tight SEC games.
THIS year, 7 of UF's 18 games this year have been decided by 10 points or less (2-5 record)
5 of the Gator's 8 SEC games in January are at home; only 2 of 7 in the month of February will be at home.

Game Coverage & More!

Radio: LIVE on ESPN850 WRUF-AM in Gainesville with Adam Schick & Brittany Davis
Internet Audio: LIVE thru www.GatorZone.com (FREE)

http://www.gatorvision.tv/mediaPortal/player.dbml?&catid=0&DB_OEM_ID=6500

Television: SEC Network with Cara Capuano & Gail Goestenkors
Internet Video: WatchESPN - http://es.pn/1AGIzYc
Internet Scoring: (FREE) via UKathletics.com http://gatorzone.cstv.com/gametracker/launch/gt_wbaskbl.html?event=1378271&school=fla&sport=wbaskbl&camefrom=&startschool=&

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