GAINESVILLE, Fla. - Despite a season-high 36 turnovers, the No. 22/23-ranked Florida women's basketball team dominated the glass and shot a season-best 54.2 percent from the field to cap its three-game homestand with an 80-72 victory over Alabama on Thursday in the O'Connell Center.
The Gators (16-3, 4-2 SEC) knocked down 32 of their 59 attempts, including a 6-of-16 shooting mark from beyond the arc. UF also outrebounded Alabama, 40-25, leading to a 16-3 edge in second-chance points.
Even with its turnover issues, Florida still outscored the Crimson Tide, 33-29, in points off turnovers, as its defense created 29 miscues.
Freshman
Eleanna Christinaki led the Gators with 16 points and four assists. Junior
Ronni Williams had the most efficient night, scoring 13 points on 6-of-9 shooting. Fellow junior
Simone Westbrook broke out of her shooting funk to the tune of 11 points, six rebounds, four assists and four steals.
How It HappenedIt looked like Florida would run away and hide early, as it built a 15-4 lead with baskets from six different players over the first seven minutes and 13 seconds of the game.
Alabama pulled within five by the 8:28 mark of the second quarter, but a 14-2 run that saw
Carla Batchelor, Eleanna Christinaki and
Haley Lorenzen combine for 12 points gave the Gators a 17-point edge. After a trio of Crimson Tide freebies, Peoples and Christinaki made consecutive layups, and
Brooke Copeland followed those buckets with a 3-pointer to put Florida up by 21 points (44-23), which marked its largest lead of the game.
Turnovers got the Gators in trouble in the third quarter. Alabama took full advantage, stampeding back to take a 57-56 lead with 2:31 remaining in the third.
Cassie Peoples answered the run with a three, putting UF back on top.
From there, two ties and three lead changes ensued. Two Christinaki free throws gave Florida the lead for the final time, as it closed the game on a 15-3 run over the final 6:17 of regulation.
Florida vs. Alabama Series History- The Gators' all-time record against Alabama improves to 27-29, including an 15-7 mark in home games
- UF has won each of the last six matchups in the series, with the last four all being decided by single digits
- Since 2006, the Gators are 11-3 against the Crimson Tide
Gator StartersNews and Numbers of Note- Florida's 36 turnovers matched the third-highest single-game total in program history
- The last time UF committed 35-plus turnovers: Dec. 3, 1988 vs. Mississippi College (program-record 41)
- For only the second time in school history, the Gators won a game in which they committed 33-plus turnovers
- The 36 turnovers set a new UF record for most in a home game, passing the 34 miscues against South Carolina on Dec. 1, 1979
- Simone Westbrook ended a nine-game 3-point field goal drought with three triples this evening
- Westbrook has tallied at least four steals in five games this season
- Westbrook's six rebounds matched her career high, with the other occurrence coming against Kennesaw State back on Nov. 21, 2015
- Tonight marked Eleanna Christinaki's fourth game with at least 15 points this season
- It also marked the first time she scored 15-plus points in consecutive games
- Ronni Williams has scored in double figures and collected at least five rebounds in each of UF's last four games
- Eleven of the 12 Gators who saw game action made at least one field goal
- Florida's 46 points in the first half marked the 13th time this season it scored at least 45 points in a half
Quotes from the CourtFlorida Head Coach Amanda ButlerOpening Statement on tonight's game... "It was a very interesting game. I can only imagine from all of your angle what you are thinking. I was really proud of our first half effort. I thought that at moments that was some of our best basketball. There is no one in this league that you can feel comfortable leading. You have to give Alabama credit for their play down the stretch in the second quarter, and they dominated the third quarter. It is a really well-coached team. I think it is a talented team. I am kind of like a broken record. It is another SEC team and that makes it a great win. We obviously had an O'Dome record for turnovers tonight and to still able to win and to find a way to win is pretty incredible. I think it really speaks to the character of this team."
On Simone Westbrook's play down the stretch to spark an offensive run late in the game..."I think Simone's defense and diving on the floor again was an amazing defensive effort play. She gets knocked out of bounds and fouled at the same time. I think those are the things that our team really feeds off of and it's great. No question. She just plays all out and has the mentality that 'I am going to sacrifice my body for the team.' I think those are the things that really get us fired up."
On the 15-0 run to retake the lead in the fourth quarter... "It felt great. It felt really good. I think we have so much confidence in our fourth quarter and continuing to believe in each other. We continue to do what we call the 'right' things over and over again. It is a different combination of players it seems like each and every time. The mission is still the same. The priorities are still the same. I thought Carla's minutes for us today were critical, and having her on the floor at the end of the game and having that smaller lineup were all positives. It is turning out to be that is Florida basketball this year. Do what you have to do in the fourth quarter no matter how ugly it looks. Fourth quarters have been really good for us."
Florida Senior Guard Carla BatchelorOn her performance tonight..."We are just doing the little things, boxing out, rebounding, looking for my teammates and doing what we do in practice."
Florida Junior Guard/Forward Ronni WilliamsOn what she saw from Carla Batchelor tonight..."Fight, hustle. You get that every day from Carla."
On her biggest takeaway from the season thus far..."The thing that we need to work on and improve on is our turnovers. We have to control the ball and handle the ball. Our fight and how aggressive we play and our toughness is there. We are down and we don't let it get to us and we pick it right back up. Teams are going to go on runs and we are going to go on our runs, but we have to stay composed and keep playing together."
Postgame LinksUp Next for the Gators- Florida will hit the road for its next two games, starting with a matchup at No. 23 Missouri Sunday afternoon. Tip off in Columbia, Mo. is slated for 2 p.m. ET, with SEC Network providing television coverage.
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