UF women's hoops loses player, Brown and Garcia in Senior Bowl, Quinn update, more tidbits
Monday, January 19, 2015 | Men's Basketball, Women's Basketball, Football, Scott Carter
Junior Antoinette Bannister is no longer a member of the UF women's basketball team. (File photo)
GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- The UF women's basketball team already faced a difficult challenge Monday night at home: No. 1-ranked South Carolina.
The undefeated Gamecocks (17-0, 5-0 in SEC) roll into town as the top-ranked team in the nation for the first time in school history. South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley has built a program that is receiving its fair share of recognition this season, as is Staley.
Tonight's game is live on the SEC Network (7 p.m.) with former UF head coach Carol Ross serving as analyst.
Meanwhile, the Gators (9-9, 1-4) have found wins elusive since the start of SEC play, including a 62-56 loss at No. 10 Kentucky on Thursday. Florida led 51-50 with 4:24 left in the game but returned home staggered as the Wildcats closed on a 12-5 run.
It got worse for head coach Amanda Butler over the weekend when news broke that one of her key reserves, junior guard/forward Antoinette Bannister, was charged with theft of a credit card and fraudulent use of a credit card.
Bannister, who played in 13 games and started three, is no longer on the team. She was averaging 6.2 points and 2.5 rebounds per game but had appeared in only one of the last six games (three minutes vs. Ole Miss on Jan. 8).
The Gators need something good to happen as they try to turn their season around and avoid dropping below .500 for the first time this season. Although unlikely based on the current circumstances, an upset of the Gamecocks would be one way to do that.
For more on tonight's game and other news of interest to Gator fans, here are some fresh links from around the Internet:
--Staley wants to see her team break out on offense writes David Cloninger of The State newspaper.
--Former Gators defensive coordinator Dan Quinn, in his second season as Seattle's defensive coordinator, is set to become head coach of the Atlanta Falcons according to the NFL Network.
--Bulls All-Star Joakim Noah to miss tonight's game against Cleveland, the second in a row the former UF star has missed due to an ankle injury.
--Gators head coach Billy Donovan addresses why Michael Frazier II and Dorian Finney-Smith were benched for long stretches in Saturday's loss at Georgia writes Kevin Brockway of The Gainesville Sun.
--Ex-Gator quarterback Brian Schottenheimer expects 'easy fit' at Georgia writes the Associated Press via ESPN.com.
--A new experience for former Gators standout Patric Young, who is now playing in Turkey, when fans threw pork legs onto the court during a game last week. Young competed in the Turkish Basketball League All-Star slam-dunk competition on Sunday.
--Recent traffic case against Gators quarterback Treon Harris was dropped writes Robbie Andreu of The Gainesville Sun.
--Florida offensive linemen Max Garcia and Trenton Brown on North Team for Saturday's Senior Bowl in Mobile, Ala.
