Florida Gators

OXFORD, Miss. – The Gators aim to win their second consecutive Southeastern Conference road game when they visit Ole Miss on Sunday.
 
Tip-off from The Pavilion at Ole Miss is set for 2 p.m. ET/1 p.m. CT.
 
The game will be televised live by SEC Network, with Brenda VanLengen and Candace Parker calling the action.
 
A New 'Pad' for the Rebels

• Florida is the inaugural women's basketball opponent at The Pavilion at Ole Miss, a brand new game-day facility for the Rebels.
• This will be the second time Florida is the opponent in an SEC arena launch, having been the inaugural foe when Alabama opened Foster Auditorium for women's basketball on February 13, 2011 (a Gator loss, 64-59).
• Florida was the debut SEC opponent for Auburn Arena on January 11, 2009 (a Gator loss, 81-65).

 
Preseason Picks

• Florida was voted by the league's coaches and media to finish 12th in the 14-team league.
• Ole Miss was selected seventh by the coaches and sixth by the media.

 
The Series vs. Ole Miss

• 34-Game Series: UF leads 19-15
• UF Home: 8-9; Away: 11-5; Neutral: 0-1
• 8 of the last 11 games have been decided by 8 points or less
• Ole Miss won last year's game in Gainesville, 64-57
• Florida's last win against Ole Miss was in Oxford on Feb. 2, 2014, when the Gators earned the 81-60 decision over the Rebels.
• The road team has earned the win in the series in six of the last seven games.

 
A Gator Win on Sunday would ...

• Surpass the total number of wins the Gators compiled all of the last season (13).
• Tie for the second-best 16-game start in program history, trailing only the 2008-09 club that opened its season 15-1 before losing its second game. Other teams that started 14-2: 2000-01 and 1984-85.
• Mark UF's fifth win on a true away court this year (currently 4-1 on away courts), as well as the seventh victory away from Gainesville (2-0 neutral site games)

 
Looking Back: Florida defeated #12/11 Tennessee, 74-66 (Thursday, January 7)

• With their frontcourt saddled with foul trouble and their head coach not with the team, the Gators staged what could be considered an improbable, 74-66, victory against No. 12/11 Tennessee at Thompson-Boling Arena Thursday evening.
• With assistant coach Shimmy Gray-Miller stepping in on the sideline for head coach Amanda Butler, who was not with the team because of a family emergency, the Gators showed the grit and toughness of their absent leader by defeating the Lady Vols for just the fourth time in the 52-game series history and for just the second time in Knoxville.
• Freshman Eleanna Christinaki: game-high 18 points, game-high 8 assists, 2 turnovers and 6 rebounds
• Carlie Needles finished with 15 points (5-10 3pters) and January Miller added 11.
• Ronni Williams collected 10 rebounds.

 
Gator Watch

• Ronni Williams, a preseason Second Team All-SEC performer, is UF's leading rebounder (7.2 pg) and is tied with Haley Lorenzen and Cassie Peoples for top scoring honors, 10.4 ppg.
• She has recorded five double-doubles this season (10 in career), including three straight during early November
• She became the first Gator to record three consecutive double-doubles since Jennifer George posted four in a row from Dec. 4-20, 2012.

 
Who's Hot!

• Over the last three games, Eleanna Christinaki has averaged a team-best 13.0 points per game.
• During that three-game span, she has dished 19 assists and converted 6-of-7 free throw attempts.
• She has scored in double-figures in six of the last eight games.

 
Threading the Needles

• In two SEC games, senior Carlie Needles has averaged 16.0 points, hitting 8-of-17 three-pointers and both free throw tries.

 
Rookie Review

• Eleanna Christinaki is the only true freshman on the Gator squad and has made quite an impact!
• She has been in the starting lineup since the third game of the season.
• Has scored in double-figures in six of the last eight games (entering Ole Miss)
• Has 8 double-figure scoring games - tied for the most on the team
• Is UF's assists leader
• Has been UF's leading game scorer four times
• Has been UF's leading rebounder twice
• Has been UF's assists leader in a team-best eight games
• Was named the SEC Freshman of the Week (Dec. 8-14)
• Just missed a triple-double vs. UCF (Dec. 30) - 14 points, 10 rebounds, 9 assists
• at Tennessee (in first SEC road game): game-high 18 points, game-high 8 assists with 6 rebounds

 
Lovely Lorenzen

• It's been everything EXCEPT a "sophomore slump" for Haley Lorenzen
• UF's leading scorer (tied) and second-leading rebounder
• this year has been UF's leading scorer in 3 games (tied for the most on the team)
• has been UF's leading rebounder in a game three times (second-most on the team)
• Scored in a team-leading 43 consecutive games
• Six double-figure scoring games -(tied for third-most on the team)
• Earned MVP honors at the Omni Hotels Classic, Nov. 27-28 in Colorado, where she compiled 26 points (12-17), 16 rebounds, 4 steals

 
Florida's DEPTH at a Glance!
On the 13-player roster...

• 10 Gators average at least 13 minutes of playing time per game
• 9 Gators average at least 6.1 points per game
• 11 Gators have made at least one three-pointer (Tyshara Fleming and Lorenzen have never attempted a three-pointer).
• 8 have started at least one game during their respective Gator careers.
• 7 have been UF's leading scorer in a game
• 7 have been UF's leading rebounder in a game this season

 
Balance, too!

• UF ranks No. 6 in the nation in scoring offense (85.3 ppg), however, the team's leading scorer(s) averages just 10.4 points per game - Haley Lorenzen, Cassie Peoples and Ronni Williams each average 10.4 per game - while freshman Eleanna Christinaki is close behind at 10.3 per game.

 
Quotes from the Court – UF Head Coach Amanda Butler
On Ole Miss:
"They are one of, if not the, fastest teams we've played. They have incredible team speed. Especially with (Shandricka) Sessom at the '4' they really put you in some unique positions in terms of matchups. She can score and they score well off the bounce. They are a ridiculously awesome offensive rebounding team."
 
If offensive rebounding is a key matchup:
"It's a big matchup and a big part of the outcome, as it always is. In the game of basketball, the paint is always important and it's magnified by one hundred when you get to SEC play. Winning the paint and winning the rebounding battle is critical."
 
On her last 48 hours:
"The highest highs you can imagine and not quite the lowest of lows. Extreme swings but ending up in Thursday being one of the most amazing days of my life."
 
On how she followed the Gator game against Tennessee Thursday night:
"My brother was in the ICU. His wife was back in the room with him. Their eight-month-old could not go back into the ICU and at the time I was the only one there because my parents had left to run some errands, so I had the baby on one hip and I had my phone in the other hand watching and singing, "Jesus loves me" because that was the only thing that would keep (her baby niece) from crying. I watched the entire first half of the game like that. In the second half (of the game), I was able to do a baby swap and I was able to focus a little bit more on the game. My brother had woken up and I was in his room for the last two or three minutes of the game and I said, we were going to win and that was it. My brother was conscious and we facetimed the team after the game, John and I together and it was incredible."
 
 
Game Day at a Glance:

• Who: Florida (13-2, 1-1 SEC) at Ole Miss (9-6, 1-1 SEC)
• Where: The Pavilion at Ole Miss (9,500) * Oxford, Mississippi
• When: Sun., January 10, 2016 * 2 p.m. ET/1 p.m. CT

 
Game Notes:

• Florida: http://floridagators.com/documents/2016/1/9/16_UF_OleMiss.pdf
• Ole Miss: http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/ole/sports/w-baskbl/auto_pdf/2015-16/release/release_20160109aaa.pdf

 
Game Coverage & More!

• Radio: LIVE on ESPN Gainesville (95.3 FM and 850 AM) with Adam Schick & Brittany Davis
• Internet Audio: LIVE thru floridagators.com (FREE)
• Television: SEC Network with Brenda VanLengen & Candace Parker
• Internet Video: SECNetwork.com and WatchESPN
• Internet Scoring: (FREE) thru floridagators.com

 
Opening Tip

• The Gators earned a hard-fought and thrilling 74-66 road victory at No. 12/11 Tennessee on Thursday.
• The Rebels and Gators will play the inaugural women's game at The Pavilion at Ole Miss on Sunday.
• The road team has earned the win in the Florida-Ole Miss series in six of the last seven games.
• UF is one of 10 SEC teams sporting a 1-1 league record.
• Four of UF's five SEC wins last year came on the road.
• UF leads the SEC (all games) in scoring offense, steals & rebounding offense, while ranking second for blocked shots.
• Nationally (thru games of January 7), the Gators rank No. 3 in steals, No. 3 in steals per game, No. 6 in scoring offense, No. 6 in made free throws, No. 6 free throw attempts, No. 5 in turnovers forced and No. 8 offensive rebounds per game
• 7 of UF's games have been decided by 10 points or less (5-2), including both SEC games.

 
 
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