Gators coach Amanda Butler talks to senior guard Carlie Needles during Thursday night's home loss to Georgia. (Jim Burgess/UAA)
Carter's Corner: Gators Must Move Quickly Past Thursday's Misfire
Friday, January 15, 2016 | Women's Basketball, Scott Carter
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By: Scott Carter, Senior Writer
GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Georgia stepped onto the O'Connell Center floor Thursday night as the only team in the Southeastern Conference without a victory in league play. The Gators trotted onto the court as one of the SEC's hottest teams, earning their first spot in the national polls in seven years after road wins at Tennessee and Ole Miss.
Georgia 71, Florida 61.
"Not anywhere close to our best,'' Gators head coach Amanda Butler said.
As Butler and junior forward Ronni Williams arrived for the postgame press conference, their body language told the story. In what has been an entertaining and energetic comeback season for the Gators, the loss to Georgia took over first place on Florida's low-point meter.
"We just did not play a very together ball game,'' Butler said. "Just really disappointed in the way we played, particularly in the first half." Cassie Peoples scored a team-high 15 points on a night points were hard to come by for the Gators. (Jim Burgess/UAA)
The Gators looked more like last year's Gators than this year's surprising group, which missed an opportunity Thursday to match the best start in program history. Instead of 15-2 and a share of second in the conference standings, the Gators dropped to 14-3, 2-2.
It was no secret why to anyone watching.
The Gators took bad shots, missed easy shots, looked lost from 3-point distance and had trouble at the foul line.
The numbers don't lie: Florida shot 33.8 percent from the floor (23 of 68), 21.7 percent from 3-point range (5 of 23), and 45.5 percent from the free-throw line (10 of 22).
The Gators took solace in their determined play in the final quarter, trimming a 21-point second-half deficit to five before the Bulldogs (13-4, 1-3) iced the victory at the line.
"They came after us like we knew they would,'' Georgia coach Joni Taylor said. "That's a good team."
The Gators know they missed an opportunity Thursday night. They recovered from a home loss to Mississippi State with that impressive road swing through Tennessee and Ole Miss, and with three consecutive home games (Georgia, LSU on Sunday and Alabama on Thursday), the Gators were in position to perhaps separate themselves from the middle of the SEC pack early in the conference schedule.
Instead, they must beat LSU Sunday to stay above .500 in the league.
"As a team we do a great job of making sure we stay on top of each other. It's all about accountability,'' said Williams, who had 12 points and nine rebounds before fouling out Thursday. "When we hold each other accountable we get the results we want. We're not happy with the outcome. So in practice, that's when we start to change it."
A look at the SEC standings this morning shows the Gators are one of seven teams that are 2-2 in the conference. The only unbeaten team left is No. 2-ranked South Carolina (16-0, 4-0). Mississippi State (16-2, 3-1) lost its first SEC game to Missouri on Thursday.
With so much parity, games like Thursday's are ones the Gators need to win to prove they belong among the league's best.
As Butler exited the press conference late Thursday, she knows that better than anyone.
"The best teams are the most resilient teams,'' she said. "Thank goodness we get a chance to play Georgia again, and thank goodness we got another game on Sunday."
