George saves day with six blocked shots

Jennifer George had already played the defensive game of her life and had responded with a career-high five blocked shots but there was one more challenge that had to be met. With nine seconds left in the game and the Gators leading 57-56, South Carolina’s La’Keisha Sutton got the ball in the low blocks, dipped her left shoulder and wheeled toward the basket to try to deliver the game-winning shot, but the ball never reached the rim because once again George was Forida’s eraser.

South Carolina had one more shot at taking the lead — Kelsey Bone retrieved the block and threw up an off balance runner that caromed off the rim and into the waiting hands of Florida’s Sharielle Smith — but the damage had already been done. Smith, who was fouled instantly, went to the foul line and dropped in two free throws that were icing on the cake for Florida’s 59-56 Southeastern Conference win over the Gamecocks.

Any SEC win is a good win, but to get a win by making a defensive stop was just what the Gators (11-9, 3-4 SEC) needed.

“It’s tough because we don’t necessarily encourage blocks, especially from our 6-foot post players,” Florida coach Amanda Butler said after the game. “But George is an exceptional athlete — she’s really 5-11 — with tremendous timing. Sometimes the best coaching ideas aren’t gonna play out in the game. The way George made plays … that’s what should dictate games, players making plays.”

George, a freshman from Orlando Bishop Moore, recorded her best defensive day as a Gator coming off the bench in relief of Azania Stewart, who had to battle through foul trouble. Cheered on by nearly sign-carrying 100 fans who came up from her high school in Orlando, George added five points and seven rebounds to go with her six blocked shots.

George felt the presence of her personal fan club.

“It was nice and a little bit embarrassing at the same time,” George said, “but it was nice having them to support me.”

That it would come down to making a defensive stand at the end of the game seemed highly unlikely in the opening minutes when the Gators jumped out to a lead of as much as 13 points, but South Carolina fought back with a 12-0 run and actually led on a couple of occasions before heading into the locker at halftime tied up at 27-27.

The tie score at the half wasn’t a good omen for Butler’s Gators, who entered the game 0-8 in games in which they weren’t leading at the half.

“You’re going to give up leads, you’re going to get leads — those things are going to happen in the course of a ball game when two good teams are playing,” Butler said. “I think the mental toughness of not letting that swing, one way or the other, be too dominant, is a good demonstration of mental toughness.”

With things all even to start the second half, the Gators and the Gamecocks were like a couple of boxers in the middle of the ring. Both of them were landing punches but neither could put the other away. Both teams held the lead six times and neither one could stretch it beyond four points.

There was a point in the second half when South Carolina seemed to have momentum in its favor to go with a 38-34 lead but the Gamecocks blew two opportunities to stretch the lead out and that was just the crack the Gators needed to get their feet back in the door.

Two free throws by Stewart with 12:47 to play got the Gators back within two and after the Gators got a stop on the defensive end, Jennifer Mosser fired a length of the court baseball pass to Trumae Lucas, who made an acrobatic catch and got her layup to drop while getting fouled. When she converted the free throw to give the Gators a 39-38 lead, it set the stage for a see-saw battle the rest of the way.

The Gators got a break at the 8:52 mark when George drew the fourth foul from South Carolina center Kelsey Bone. That sent Bone to the bench for four minutes and without her in the middle, South Carolina lacked a formidable presence. Bone, the SEC’s leading rebounder, finished the game with 19 points and 11 rebounds but the foul trouble helmed to limit her to only five second half points.

“Kelsey (Bone) is …  gosh, she is so talented,” Butler said. “I told our players, not taking any credit away from the other post players that we’ve played this year, but she’s the total package. She’s big, she’s strong, and she is so skilled, and she’s a smart player. Getting her off the floor certainly improved our chances, especially with Azania (Stewart) in a little bit of foul trouble as well. You don’t plan for someone leaving because of foul trouble, but you have to take advantage of it when it happens.”

When Jones came back in the game, she had an impact, scoring a layup with 44 seconds remaining to put South Carolina ahead, 56-55, but Lucas countered with a pull-up jumper in the lane to give the Gators the lead for good, 57-56, with 18 seconds left in the game.

It was an emotional win for redshirt sophomore Jordan Jones, who transferred from South Carolina last year. Jones started as part of a three-guard lineup for the Gators and contributed four points, one rebound and one assist.

“I was nervous,” she said. “It was tough seeing familiar faces. But this is why I cam here: to play for a coach like Coach Butler, and to have teammates where I can come out and play bad, and someone like Lucas will come out and hit the game-winning shot. This is why you come to a place like this — to win these games in front of a great crowd, with great support. It was very satisfying.”

Lucas and Smith led the Gators with 11 points each while Steffi Sorenson had eight points and eight rebounds.

The Gators are off for a week, returning to action next Sunday on the road in Oxford against Ole Miss.