By: Jenna Ladd
The Florida Gators (5-2) took the 73-44 win over the Virginia Tech Hokies (4-3) for the first time under head coach Amanda Butler on Monday night in the Stephen O’Connell Center.
Florida came out differently then we’ve seen all season, getting an early 10-2 lead over Virginia Tech and kept a quick tempo on the defense. Despite the height disadvantage with the majority of the Hokies players checking in over 6 feet, the Gators kept themselves in the game with 3-pointers and rebounds.
Head coach Amanda Butler took notice of the difference in the way the Gators played saying, “I’m just really proud of the way we played defense today. You know, it’s been something we’ve been harping on and really trying to work on. I thought we did a great job of doing the things we’ve been working on in practice, carrying those over to the game floor.”
For Cassie Peoples, practice makes perfect. Prior to Monday’s game she was shooting poorly form the 3-point line, but after putting in extra time in the gym and shooting over 200 shots, she was confident going into the game. Peoples led the Gators, putting up 19 points – the majority of those points coming from outside the arc. She went 5-for-6 in 3-pointers and led the team with 4 assists. Kayla Lewis wasn’t far behind Peoples, raking up 15 points of her own. Freshman Haley Lorenzen made a fair contribution of 9 points, with January Miller and Carlie Needles coming in right behind with 8 points each.
Despite having 10 turnovers in the first half, the Gators kept up their momentum and although they had a few close calls, they never lost the lead. Florida peaked with a 12-point lead in the first half after one of Lewis’ many layups. The first half finished with the Hokies trailing the Gators by 9 at 31-22.
Coming back in the second half, Florida was relentless with four 3-pointers within the first five minutes of playing. Three of those four 3’s were from redshirt junior Cassie Peoples alone, the other coming from freshman Dyandria Anderson. This momentum set the tone for the rest of the game by putting the Gators in a 21-point lead over the Hokies.
Florida’s leading rebounder, Carlie Needles, who also is ranked fourth in the SEC for rebounds per game, helped keep up the defensive pressure against a team that is typically deliberate and controlled. The Gator defense is what propelled them to take such a strong lead over the Hokies, forcing turnovers and getting steals. Butler attributed the amount of rebounds to an aggressive defense that doesn’t cave to the size of the other team.
“Well you just want to be more aggressive. I don’t know if you know, but our leading rebounder is Carlie,” Butler said. “So, obviously height doesn’t have a whole lot to do with rebounding. …You know, just being fearless; she’s the fourth rebound leader in the SEC, and probably one of the shortest players.”
With a second half that was even stronger than the first, the Florida Gators kept over a 20-point lead from 4:16 until the buzzer. Florida finished off the game with a lead of 29 points over Virginia Tech with a final score of 73-44.