Gators Determined to Put Up Strong Fight Down Stretch
Wednesday, February 11, 2015 | Women's Basketball, Scott Carter
GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- About 15 hours had elapsed since the UF men's basketball team walked off the court late Saturday night after one of its gutsiest performances of the season.
Florida, a heavy underdog to No. 1-ranked and undefeated Kentucky, led at halftime and put a scare in the Wildcats in the second half before eventually falling.
As the first half of Sunday's game between the UF women's basketball team and No. 6-ranked Tennessee unfolded on the same O'Connell Center court, you wondered if Amanda Butler's team had been inspired by Billy Donovan's club.
The Gators were giving the heavily favored Lady Vols -- if you need perspective, Florida has defeated Tennessee only three times in 51 meetings in the all-time series -- enough fits that Tennessee committed 12 turnovers in the game's first 20 minutes.
Those turnovers and some scrappy play sparked the Gators to a two-point lead at halftime despite playing without one of its regular starters, freshman forward Haley Lorenzen, due to a late scratch from an injury. The 6-foot-3 Lorenzen was missed by the Gators against a much bigger Tennessee team that features six players 6-foot-2 or taller in its regular rotation.
Still, when Florida guard Carlie Needles hit a 3-pointer with less than 15 minutes left in the game, putting the Gators ahead by five, the upset alert began to warm up.
And then the Lady Vols scored the next 11 points on the way to a 64-56 victory, dropping the Gators to 11-12 overall, 3-7 in the Southeastern Conference.
Tennessee coach Holly Warlick's 76th victory since replacing the legendary Pat Summitt as leader of the Lady Vols was one she didn't take lightly.
“They play hard,'' Warlick said of the Gators. “I'm shocked at their record. I just think they've got a solid team. They don't have 'quit' in them.”
The Gators certainly didn't on Sunday.
That's what storied programs such as Tennessee do to other teams. They bring out the best in opponents, much the same way Donovan spoke late Saturday night about his disappointment in Kentucky doing the same to his team.
In Donovan's view, if the Gators played with the same intensity and focus they did against Kentucky, their record would not be 12-11.
Meanwhile, Butler has faced some of the same issues with her team, which is in jeopardy of missing the postseason for the first time in Butler's eight seasons.
Gators head coach Amanda Butler is in her eighth season at her alma mater. (Photo: Jim Burgess)
Her biggest takeaway from Sunday's loss?
“I loved our fight,'' she said. “I loved how hard we fought and battled and played, especially one woman down. I thought we did an excellent job of sticking to the game plan and believing every second of the game that this was supposed to be our win.”
In the end the Gators were their own worst enemy Sunday. Florida, after committing only seven turnovers in the first half, turned the ball over 14 times after halftime, including three consecutive possessions with an opportunity to build on a 33-28 lead.
Sophomore Ronni Williams, a yo-yo of frenzied talent, had two of those turnovers and nine in the game. She also had a double-double with 11 points and 13 rebounds.
“We didn't do a good job of taking care of the ball in the second half, and that was ultimately, I think, what determined the outcome of the game,'' Butler said.
Sitting a game below .500 with six regular-season games remaining, the Gators have a steep hill to climb to erase any doubts they are deserving of a postseason bid.
That climb starts on Thursday night when Florida plays at Georgia, another game it will enter as an underdog.
Senior Kayla Lewis, who became the 23rd player in school history to eclipse 1,000 career points on Sunday, is hopeful the same Florida team that spooked Tennessee shows up at Georgia.
“We're coming up a little bit short,'' Lewis said. “We're right where we're supposed to be. We have what it takes to be on the court with these teams and we're just inches away from pulling that big upset. I think that one of them is going to come.”
If Lewis had said that earlier in the season, Butler might not have agreed. Now she is more optimistic.
The Gators have experienced their share of turbulence this season, some of it self-inflicted. It has taken time for the rotation to gel, roles to be defined, and a belief to develop that this team can compete with the best of the best.
“I think it's something that has been a process with this team,'' Butler said. “We were not fighting this way in November. I was very disappointed with the way we didn't fight in our earlier ballgames. I think now, when things are critical going into this last month of basketball, that's how we want to play.
“It's been a journey of learning what toughness looks like on the basketball court for this team. I hope going forward this is who we are, because it's a great evening factor when you don't have the size or the same number of All-Americans on the team, you can bridge that gap with toughness every night.”
The next round of this bout is Thursday at Georgia.
