Florida Gators

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The No. 20 Florida women's basketball team launches its 2016-17 season playing the first 12 games on the road and that adventure begins Friday, when the Gators travel to Jacksonville and play South Alabama at Veterans Memorial Arena in the season opener for both clubs.

Tip-off is schedule for 5 p.m. ET and the game will have live streaming video through SEC Network + with Bernie Guenther and Steffi Sorensen calling the action.
 
On the Road Again and Again and Again

• Florida will play its first 12 games on the road due to the $64.5 million renovation of the Exactech Arena at the O'Connell Center, which is slated to be completed in mid-December.
• During that season-opening road swing, the Gators will have traveled a total of 8,289 miles without leaving the contiguous United States or playing in the Pacific Time Zone before playing host to Southeastern Louisiana in their home opener.

 
Returning from 2015-16

• Florida returns seven letterwinners from last season's team that won 22 games, finished tied for fourth in the Southeastern Conference and earned an NCAA Tournament berth, with only six of whom will suit up for the season.
• UF also lost six players from last year's squad (five graduating, one transferred).
• The Gators welcome five newcomers, however, only three will be in action this year.

 
The 2016-17 Gators

• Florida's top three scorers from last year's SEC-leading scoring offense (77.4 ppg) return for the 2016-17 season, with senior Ronni Williams (11.1 ppg), sophomore Eleanna Christinaki (10.4 ppg) and junior Haley Lorenzen (9.3 ppg) pacing the Gators. Williams has been UF's leading scorer each of the last two seasons.
• Head Coach Amanda Butler, who was named the 2016 WBCA Region 2 Co-Coach of the Year and a 2016 WBCA National Coach of the Year finalist, enters her 10th season coaching her alma mater. Her tenure at UF is tied for the second-longest among active coaches in the SEC this year.
• Last year's Gators finished ranked in the top10 of four national stats categories: No. 3 for Turnovers Forced, No. 4 for Steals per game, No. 7 for Steals, No. 10 for Offensive Rebounds per game. UF also ranked No. 16 for Scoring Offense.

 
Looking just fine with Nine

• The Gators will open the season with a 12-player roster, however just nine will suit up for the 2016-17 campaign.
• Senior Simone Westbrook, a member of the 2016 SEC All-Defensive Team, tore her ACL in August and will miss the season.
• Freshman Sydney Morang will not play due to concussion symptoms.
• Junior Funda Nakkasoglu joined the Gators from Utah State and must sit out the year per NCAA rules for transfers.

 
 
A Familiar Road Game for Two Freshmen

• Freshmen Sydney Searcy and Delicia Washington will be making their respective collegiate debuts just a few miles from their hometown!
• Searcy is from Ponte Vedra Beach - 23 miles from Jacksonville - and played her prep ball at Nease HS and was three-time first-team All-State, Class 6A
• Washington is from Glen St. Mary - approximately 33 miles from Jacksonville - and was two-time first-team All-State, Class 5A

 
 
Gator Watch

• Senior Ronni Williams, a 2016 Second Team All-SEC performer, was UF's leading scorer (11.1 ppg) and rebounder (7.8 ppg).
• In SEC games, Williams averaged team-bests of 8.8 rebounds per game, while netting 10.6 points.
• Williams ranked No. 3 in the SEC for rebounding in league games
• She recorded eight double-doubles during the season (13 in career)
• 19 double-figure scoring games last year (most on team)

 
 
The Series: Florida vs. South Alabama

• 8-Game Series: UF leads 5-3 (UF Home: 2-1; Away: 2-2; Neutral: 1-0)
• Streak: Florida has won the last five games in the series

 
Last Year: Florida 72, South Alabama 60
December 1, 2015 * Mitchell Center * Mobile, Ala.

• Carlie Needles scored a game-high 15 points, sophomore Dyandria Anderson notched her the first double-double of her career and the Gators overcame a sluggish start to win earn a 72-60 victory. Florida trailed the entire first half and was within one points six times in the first half but couldn't manage to take the lead, as South Alabama took a 34-33 halftime lead.
• Ronni Williams, who finished the game with 14 points and 12 rebounds for her fourth double-double of the season and ninth of her career, scored the first four points of the third quarter and gave the Gators their first lead of the game and they never trailed again, as Anderson tacked on two more points as part of that initial run of the frame.
• The teams traded scores for the majority of the third quarter and South Alabama was within two points on three occasions, the latest with 34 seconds left.
• That's when Simone Westbrook converted a slashing layup ignited a 21-9 run that gave the Gators a 70-54 lead with 2:35 remaining the fourth quarter and Florida won its third consecutive road game in a five-day span that covered two different states.

 
 
Quick Scout on the Jaguars

• Seven of the eight Jaguars - including all five starters - who competed against the Gators in last year's thriller return for the 2016-17 edition of the series. Those seven players accounted for 54 of USA's 60 points scored.
• On the flip side, of the 13 Gators who competed in last year's game against South Alabama, only seven will be suiting up for Friday's game.
• Last year's outing was the only time then-freshman Eleanna Christinaki failed to score a point during a game during UF's entire 31-game slate. Christinaki emerged as the Gator's second-leading scorer and was named to the All-SEC Freshman Team.
• South Alabama roared past Auburn-Montgomery, 71-44, in its only exhibition game of the preseason. Four different Jaguars reached a double-figure scoring effort, paced by junior center Chyna Ellis' 16 points and 11 rebounds. Florida did not play a formal exhibition game.

 
 
Florida All-Time on Opening-Day

• All-Time Opening-Day Record: 24-18
• Current Streak: Lost 1
• Home Record: 16-6 (streak: won 3)
• Away Record: 3-8 (streak: lost 2)
• Neutral Site Record: 5-4 (streak: won 3)

 
 
Quotes from the Court – UF Head Coach Amanda Butler:
On South Alabama:

• "We've got to set the tone against them. They are a veteran team. They return just about everyone who played in last year's game against us and they are going to be just as excited to play. They have a very dynamic guard in Marquita Daniels and a really solid post player in Chyna Ellis. They can shoot the ball very well and they have a lot of balance in their scoring and the way they try to attack you. I think they know who they are – the are set in their style of play and they are very good at imposing that style."

What she wants to see from the Gators:

• "I hope we carry into the game the way that we've been practicing – the intensity, the level of coachability, the energy and exciting around getting to play a game. Hopefully, you'll see a lot of teamwork and reliance on one another, as well as great defense, improved rebounding and dynamic scoring."

 
 
Gators All-Time in the Preseason Top-25 National Rankings

• While Florida has received votes in national preseason polls multiple times in the program's history, this is just the seventh time in the top-25 at the beginning of the year since the 2001-02 season, when the team began the campaign No 12 in the USA Today ranking and No. 13 in the Associated Press poll.

 
 
Gator Pronunciations for this release:

• DYANDRIA Anderson: dee-ANN-dree-uh
• ELEANNA CHRISTINAKI: L-ee-on-uh chris-tin-OCK-ee
• Sydney SEARCY: SIR-see

 
 
Game Day Information

• Who: #20/24 Florida (0-0, 0-0 SEC) vs. South Alabama (0-0, 0-0 SBC)
• Where: Veterans Memorial Arena (9,000) * Jacksonville, Florida
• When: Fri., November 11 * 5 p.m. ET
• Extra: Game 1 of DOUBLEHEADER (Gator men play at 7:30 p.m.)
• UF Game Notes: [direct link]
• South Alabama Game Notes: [direct link]

 
Game Coverage & More!

• Radio: LIVE on ESPN Gainesville (WRUF-AM850/FM95.3) with Adam Schick & Brittany Davis
• Internet Audio: LIVE thru FloridaGators.com (FREE) [direct link]
• Television: none
• Streaming Video: SEC Network + with Bernie Guenther & Steffi Sorensen [direct link]
• Internet Scoring: LIVE thru FloridaGators.com [direct link]
• Tickets: http://jaxevents.com/event/uf-basketball/
•      Prices range from $14 to $29 and tickets are good for both games of the doubleheader

 
Opening Tip

• This is the 43rd year of UF varsity women's basketball
• UF is 24-18 all-time in season openers, including 5-4 at neutral sites
• First neutral site opener since 2005-06; vs. St. Francis (NY) at the Seton Hall Basketball Classic in South Orange, NJ
• Last year, UF led the SEC (all games) in scoring offense (77.4 ppg) for the first time in program history; also led in steals (12.4 pg) and rebounding offense (41.2 pg)
• 15 of UF's games last season were decided by 10 points or less (11-4), including nine SEC games (7-2)

 
 
 
FOLLOW THE GATORS
SOCIAL: Twitter | Facebook | YouTube | Instagram
JOIN THE CONVERSATION: #GoGators
 
-0-