GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Florida hit 13-of-13 free throw attempts in the final 1:42 and earned a much-needed 72-58 win against Arkansas in the Stephen C. O'Connell Center on Sunday afternoon in Gainesville. The win snapped UF's four-game losing streak and brought the Gators back to .500 overall (10-10, 2-5) this season.
The win was Head Coach Amanda Butler's 150th with the Gators, as well as the 190th of her 10-year head coaching career.
Carlie Needles and January Miller each scored 16 points for the Gators, while redshirt senior Kayla Lewis recorded 10 points, six rebounds and two steals.
The Gators jumped out to a quick 12-3 advantage by the under-16 media timeout behind eight points from freshman Haley Lorenzen on 4-of-5 shooting from the field. During that span, UF forced three Arkansas turnovers which led to six Florida points.
The following nine-plus minutes of action was nip-and-tuck with the Gators eventually pushing their lead to its largest lead of the day, 17 points (30-13), following a three-pointer from Miller at the 5:47 mark of the first stanza. Two possessions later, Needles connected on her second triple of the game with 4:45 remaining in the half, giving her 142 for her career. That trey tied her with Dana Smith (1994-98) for No. 6 in program history.
UF stretched its lead to 17 points on four separate occasions in the first half and took a 41-24 lead in the locker room at intermission. It marked just the second time in Southeastern Conference play that Florida went into the halftime with a lead (at Missouri, 1/11/15).
Lorenzen scored all of her 12 points during the opening 20 minutes of action, when then Gators shot a healthy 53.1 percent (17-32) from the floor and held a 19-12 rebounding advantage. The rookie also blocked three shots and collected four rebounds.
Arkansas opened the second half on an 8-2 run and held the Gators scoreless until Miller drove into the lane for a layup at the 16:18 mark.
Arkansas closed its deficit to eight points (52-44) on a Melissa Wolff layup with 6:53 remaining in the second half, but the Gators responded on their next possession as Miller created an opportunity for a three-point play with 6:45 to go in the game.
Florida never allowed its lead to shrink lower than eight points again, as the Gators halted every comeback attempt the Razorbacks had in them and ended the game with a 14-point victory.
UF led the game wire-to-wire.
Kelsey Brooks scored 14 points to lead Arkansas.
Updated Records: Florida 10-10, 2-5 SEC … Arkansas 11-8, 1-6 SEC
VIDEO LINKS:
· Game Highlights
http://www.gatorvision.tv/mediaPortal/player.dbml?id=3682823&db_oem_id=6500
· Postgame Comments
http://www.gatorvision.tv/mediaPortal/player.dbml?id=3683593&db_oem_id=6500
Clutch:
· The Gators finished the game 20-of-26 from the free throw line, paced by Carlie Needles, who hit all eight of her attempts in the final 73 seconds of the game.
· UF converted its final 13 free throw attempts of the game, all coming in the last 1:42 of the contest.
· Ronni Williams hit 5-of-6, including her final five tries during that game-ending 1:42 span.
Turning Point:
· Arkansas closed its deficit to eight points (52-44) on a Melissa Wolff layup with 6:53 remaining in the second half, but the Gators responded on their next possession when January Miller created an opportunity for a three-point play with 6:45 to go in the game.
Series Update:
· With today's win, UF now holds a 24-9 all-time record against the Razorbacks
· UF at Home: 11-3; Away: 9-5; Neutral: 4-1
· The Gators have now won four of their last five matchups against the Hogs
Numbers of Note:
· Florida's bench outscored Arkansas's, 27-11
· The Razorbacks turned the ball over 17 times, which led to 13 Gator points
· UF shot 53.1% (17-32) in the decisive first half and hit 43.6 percent (24-55) overall during the game
· The Gator shot a combined 31.6 percent during their four-game losing streak.
Individuals:
· Ronni Williams scored her 450th point in the second half
· Haley Lorenzen scored her 150th career point in the first half
· Carlie Needles hit her 142nd career three-pointer in the first half tying her with Dana Smith (1994-98) for sixth all-time in UF history in made triples
· Cassie Peoples grabbed her 150th rebound in today's game
Double-Figures:
· January Miller (16), Carlie Needles (16), Haley Lorenzen (12) and Kayla Lewis (10) all scored in double-figures for the Gators
· Miller was in double-figure scoring for the fifth time this season and 29th in her career
· Needles scored in double-figures for the seventh time this season and the 22nd in her career
· Lorenzen notched her sixth double-figure scoring game of the season and tied her career-high for points in a half with 12
· Lewis recorded double-digit points for 11th time this season and 48th in her career
· Dyandria Anderson snared a career-high five rebounds
Streaks:
· Carlie Needles connected on a three-pointer at the 7:46 mark of the first half, extending the Gators' consecutive games with a trey streak to 150.
Starters:
· Kayla Lewis made her 81st career start and 53rd consecutive
· Carlie Needles recorded her 51st career start
· Dyandria Anderson notched her third career start
· Haley Lorenzen appeared in the starting lineup for the 14th time in her career
· Brooke Copeland made her fifth career start
· This was ninth different starting lineup used by Amanda Butler and fifth straight game with a different lineup
Quotes from the Court:
UF Head Coach Amanda Butler
Opening Statement…
“I think we played really well. I'm really proud of not only the way we performed today, but also the way practiced for three days. I think our team really maximized this week and carried over what we worked on into the game. That was really important. It's something we haven't done so well this year. But that's what we want to see – progress. What we want to see are trends in the right direction and this was a big step for a team that we felt was just a couple steps away from being really, really good. I think we took a giant step in the right direction. I'm just really, really proud of our entire team effort and preparation, as well.”
On the Bye …
“I think it's huge. When we talk as a league, it's always important talking about scheduling and how many byes should be included. I think these kids go so hard for so long and that's just talking about physically what they are going through. Then there are the academic rigors that they have, as well. So when you have a chance to say, “decompress, relax, just focus on something else besides whether the ball is going through the hole, how tired your legs are.” You've got to really, really capitalize on that. We really encouraged the team for two days to stay out of the gym, rest your legs, rest your mind, focus on your academics and just relax a little bit. I think we did a really god job of doing that.”
UF Redshirt Senior Kayla Lewis
“We approach every game the same way. We just needed to get our bodies right. We took two complete days off. Coach Butler told everyone not to come in and to use this unique opportunity (a bye week). When we all came back in on Wednesday we were ready to go. [Practice] was very specific, very detail-oriented and everyone worked very hard. Our biggest problem has been practice. It's been carrying practice over into a game.”
UF Junior January Miller
“I was attacking way more than I was in the past. My coaches just kept telling me that I needed to drive. Once I actually relaxed and just played like I knew how to, things just flowed. Attacking was the biggest thing.”
UF Redshirt Junior Carlie Needles
On transforming practice into the game…
“It feels awesome to finally to carry over what we've been doing in practice and get a win out of it. Following our game plan and know that it was going to work. We do our best work when we are energized and we talk about that everyday when we start practice, at shoot around, right before the start of a game. We play our best when we are celebrating the little things and the big things.”
UF Freshman Haley Lorenzen
“I knew my team was with me and we came out with a lot of energy. Coach Butler had put a lot of confidence in me because we were talking about the posts needing more shots. I was just feeling confident and that this was going to be my game.”
Arkansas Head Coach Jimmy Dykes
Opening Statement…
“We played a little bit more of a zone, did a good job of communicating out of it, but we rebounded the ball a little bit better the second half. We don't have a lot of room for error right now. Our best players have to play well on the road. Not at all what I want or anyone else wants in that locker room at all. We looked nothing like a basketball team the first half.”
Next Gator Game:
What: Florida (10-10, 2-5 SEC) hosts Missouri (11-8, 1-5 SEC)
When: Thursday, January 29, 2015 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
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