Florida newcomer Simone Westbrook scored a team-high 20 points in Sunday's win. (Jim Burgess/UAA)
In The (Gator) Zone: UF Women's Basketball Team's Rise, Tebow Lip Syncs, More Tidbits
Monday, February 1, 2016 | Women's Basketball, Scott Carter
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Considering the Florida football team's turnaround in the first season under head coach Jim McElwain, it was difficult to imagine another Gators team surpassing expectations by as much during the 2015-16 school year.
Not anymore.
The UF women's basketball team, picked to finish 12th in the 14-team Southeastern Conference in the preseason media poll, is tied for second behind No. 2-ranked South Carolina (21-0, 9-0) with seven regular-season games remaining.
The Gators (18-4, 6-3) are tied with Mississippi State (19-4, 6-3) after their win over No. 12-ranked Kentucky at the O'Connell Center on Sunday afternoon. The victory was Florida's third over a ranked opponent this season and came before a season-high crowd at the O'Dome.
Florida's success is easily discovered by looking at the season's statistical chart. Ninth-year head coach Amanda Butler has perhaps her deepest team. She has started 10 different players and those 10 average between 5.2 and 10.8 points per game.
The roster is producing up and down the lineup and Sunday's win was no different. Eight Gators scored as Florida forced 30 Kentucky turnovers and shot 65.5 percent (19 of 29) in the second half.
Senior guard Carlie Needles had a quiet game with only three points in 28 minutes. No problem. Simone Westbrook scored a season-high 20 and hit three 3-pointers. Regulars Cassie Peoples and Dyandria Anderson combined for zero points. Again, no problem, as sophomore forward Haley Lorenzen (18 points) and senior guard Carla Batchelor (12) combined for 30, hitting 14 of 20 shots.
If there's been one constant with this Florida team, it's the stellar play of freshman guard Eleanna Christinaki, who scored 12 points and dished a career-high 11 assists against the Wildcats. Christinaki leads the team in scoring (10.8 ppg) and assists (4.0).
The No. 22-ranked Gators, who re-entered the poll Monday, can win games in several ways. They did it Sunday with their defensive pressure.
"They set the pace, the tone for how this game would be played,'' said former Georgia coach Andy Landers during his postgame comments Sunday as an SEC Network analyst.
Butler faced a difficult challenge in turning around the program after last season's 13-17 finish, the first season the Gators failed to qualify for the postseason during her tenure. She revamped her coaching staff with the hires of assistants Bill Ferrara and Shimmy Gray-Miller, and added three newcomers in Christinaki, Westbrook and junior center Tyshara Fleming, teammate of Westbrook and Batchelor at Northwest Florida State College prior to UF.
The ingredients have created a winning formula.
"The quality of the personnel that we have is huge,'' Butler said. "Our success is not determined by one person playing well, or even two or three people playing well. We have different people that continue to step up for us and make plays in different ways."
In Sunday's win, it was Christinaki who came up with the game's biggest play as Florida nursed an 82-79 lead with less than 10 seconds remaining. Christinaki stole Kentucky's inbounds pass and converted a 3-point play with 3.3 seconds remaining.
Game over.
Meanwhile, the Gators' surprising season continues.
"A very significant win for us … [we] continue to prove that we're one of the best team in the country, which is hard to do week in and week out, game in and game out in our league,'' Butler said. "We're excited where we are."
They should be. Next, the Gators have an opportunity to really show how far they have come with back-to-back games against No. 12 Texas A&M (Thursday at home) and at SEC leader South Carolina on Feb. 11.
*****
TEBOW UNPLUGGED
Former Gators quarterback Tim Tebow passed on "Dancing With The Stars" a few years back.
However, he said yes to "Lip Sync Battle" hosted by LL Cool J and Chrissy Teigen.
If you want to see Tebow like you've never seen him before, check him out as Rocky Balboa as he performs Survivor's "Eye of the Tiger" in the video below:
*****
TOPICAL TWEET
Pro Football Hall of Famer Jack Youngblood, who starred for the Gators from 1968-70, turned 66 on Jan. 26.
Youngblood was the Los Angeles Rams' first-round pick in 1971 and played 14 seasons in L.A., helping the Rams advance to the Super Bowl during the 1979 season.
EXTRA, EXTRA
The UF men's basketball team earned some respect after their win Saturday against No. 9 West Virginia. ESPN.com writer Myron Medcalf considers the Gators as a team to watch in February. … Former UF star Emmitt Smith was selected to the Super Bowl 50 Golden Team by the Pro Football Hall of Fame Board. Smith played in three Super Bowls during his time with the Dallas Cowboys, winning all three. He rushed for 108 yards in 1993 against Buffalo, 132 yards in '94 against the Bills, and 49 yards against Pittsburgh in 1996. Smith was joined by former Steelers great Franco Harris in the backfield. … Former UF football player Joseph Hergert, co-captain of Florida's Gator Bowl team in 1958, passed away Jan. 16. Hergert played professional football after UF and later became a longtime high school coach in Florida and Colorado. … Former UF offensive lineman Zac Zedalis, who has filed to run for Alachua County Sheriff, was dismissed from the department on Monday in a surprising development. … Running in the 60 meters on Friday night at the House of Track meet in Portland, Ore., former UF football player/sprinter Jeff Demps finished sixth for Team Nike.
-- To submit items for In The (Gator) Zone, email ScottC@gators.ufl.edu.
Not anymore.
The UF women's basketball team, picked to finish 12th in the 14-team Southeastern Conference in the preseason media poll, is tied for second behind No. 2-ranked South Carolina (21-0, 9-0) with seven regular-season games remaining.
The Gators (18-4, 6-3) are tied with Mississippi State (19-4, 6-3) after their win over No. 12-ranked Kentucky at the O'Connell Center on Sunday afternoon. The victory was Florida's third over a ranked opponent this season and came before a season-high crowd at the O'Dome.
Florida's success is easily discovered by looking at the season's statistical chart. Ninth-year head coach Amanda Butler has perhaps her deepest team. She has started 10 different players and those 10 average between 5.2 and 10.8 points per game.
The roster is producing up and down the lineup and Sunday's win was no different. Eight Gators scored as Florida forced 30 Kentucky turnovers and shot 65.5 percent (19 of 29) in the second half.
Senior guard Carlie Needles had a quiet game with only three points in 28 minutes. No problem. Simone Westbrook scored a season-high 20 and hit three 3-pointers. Regulars Cassie Peoples and Dyandria Anderson combined for zero points. Again, no problem, as sophomore forward Haley Lorenzen (18 points) and senior guard Carla Batchelor (12) combined for 30, hitting 14 of 20 shots.
If there's been one constant with this Florida team, it's the stellar play of freshman guard Eleanna Christinaki, who scored 12 points and dished a career-high 11 assists against the Wildcats. Christinaki leads the team in scoring (10.8 ppg) and assists (4.0).
The No. 22-ranked Gators, who re-entered the poll Monday, can win games in several ways. They did it Sunday with their defensive pressure.
"They set the pace, the tone for how this game would be played,'' said former Georgia coach Andy Landers during his postgame comments Sunday as an SEC Network analyst.
Butler faced a difficult challenge in turning around the program after last season's 13-17 finish, the first season the Gators failed to qualify for the postseason during her tenure. She revamped her coaching staff with the hires of assistants Bill Ferrara and Shimmy Gray-Miller, and added three newcomers in Christinaki, Westbrook and junior center Tyshara Fleming, teammate of Westbrook and Batchelor at Northwest Florida State College prior to UF.
The ingredients have created a winning formula.
"The quality of the personnel that we have is huge,'' Butler said. "Our success is not determined by one person playing well, or even two or three people playing well. We have different people that continue to step up for us and make plays in different ways."
In Sunday's win, it was Christinaki who came up with the game's biggest play as Florida nursed an 82-79 lead with less than 10 seconds remaining. Christinaki stole Kentucky's inbounds pass and converted a 3-point play with 3.3 seconds remaining.
Game over.
Meanwhile, the Gators' surprising season continues.
"A very significant win for us … [we] continue to prove that we're one of the best team in the country, which is hard to do week in and week out, game in and game out in our league,'' Butler said. "We're excited where we are."
They should be. Next, the Gators have an opportunity to really show how far they have come with back-to-back games against No. 12 Texas A&M (Thursday at home) and at SEC leader South Carolina on Feb. 11.
*****
TEBOW UNPLUGGED
Former Gators quarterback Tim Tebow passed on "Dancing With The Stars" a few years back.
However, he said yes to "Lip Sync Battle" hosted by LL Cool J and Chrissy Teigen.
If you want to see Tebow like you've never seen him before, check him out as Rocky Balboa as he performs Survivor's "Eye of the Tiger" in the video below:
*****
TOPICAL TWEET
Pro Football Hall of Famer Jack Youngblood, who starred for the Gators from 1968-70, turned 66 on Jan. 26.
Youngblood was the Los Angeles Rams' first-round pick in 1971 and played 14 seasons in L.A., helping the Rams advance to the Super Bowl during the 1979 season.
Thank you for the birthday wishes. I'm sorry I can't reply to all of you but know that it means a lot to me and these old bones. Thank you!!
— Jack Youngblood (@theblood85) January 26, 2016
EXTRA, EXTRA
The UF men's basketball team earned some respect after their win Saturday against No. 9 West Virginia. ESPN.com writer Myron Medcalf considers the Gators as a team to watch in February. … Former UF star Emmitt Smith was selected to the Super Bowl 50 Golden Team by the Pro Football Hall of Fame Board. Smith played in three Super Bowls during his time with the Dallas Cowboys, winning all three. He rushed for 108 yards in 1993 against Buffalo, 132 yards in '94 against the Bills, and 49 yards against Pittsburgh in 1996. Smith was joined by former Steelers great Franco Harris in the backfield. … Former UF football player Joseph Hergert, co-captain of Florida's Gator Bowl team in 1958, passed away Jan. 16. Hergert played professional football after UF and later became a longtime high school coach in Florida and Colorado. … Former UF offensive lineman Zac Zedalis, who has filed to run for Alachua County Sheriff, was dismissed from the department on Monday in a surprising development. … Running in the 60 meters on Friday night at the House of Track meet in Portland, Ore., former UF football player/sprinter Jeff Demps finished sixth for Team Nike.
-- To submit items for In The (Gator) Zone, email ScottC@gators.ufl.edu.
Players Mentioned
Guard
/ Women's Basketball
Guard
/ Women's Basketball
G/F
/ Women's Basketball
Center
/ Women's Basketball
Forward
/ Women's Basketball
Guard
/ Women's Basketball
Guard
/ Women's Basketball
Guard
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