Three Florida Gators women’s basketball players honored

Special report on the Florida Gators women’s basketball team:


BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- The coaches of the Southeastern Conference recognized Florida Gators juniors Ronni Williams and Simone Westbrook and freshman Eleanna Christinaki, as the league announced its 2016 women's basketball postseason awards Tuesday. Williams, a 6-foot forward from Daytona Beach was named to the All-SEC second team, while Westbrook earned a spot on the All-Defensive Team. Christinaki became the sixth different Gator in nine years under UF head coach Amanda Butler to earn SEC All-Freshman Team honors. More on Williams: Team's leading scorer and rebounder ... in SEC games ranked among leaders for Rebounding (No. 4), scoring, defensive rebounds, offensive rebounds and free throw percentage ... 20 points-15 rebounds vs. Texas A&M - first Gator since Nov. 23, 2007 to finish a game with at least 20 points and 15 rebounds led to the SEC Player of the Week honor for the first time in her career ... First Gator to record 3 straight double-doubles since Dec. of 2012 ... recorded eight double-doubles this season (13 in career) ... team-best 17 double-figure scoring games this year (in 11 SEC games) ... team's leading rebounder in 15 games this year ... scored in 52 consecutive games ... only Gator who started every SEC game this year ... team captain. More on Westbrook: Ranks No. 4 in the SEC in steals and is main reason UF leads the SEC (all games & SEC) in steals ... has had at least one steal in every game except two ... had a career-high six steals in four games this year ... In the win against Kentucky scored a career-high 20 points, converting 7-of-10 field goals that included 3-of-4 from deep, as well as 3-of-5 free throws; also hit buzzer-beaters to end the second and third quarters ... also against Kentucky, was involved in tying up the ball with six seconds remaining that helped run valuable time off the clock when the Gators were leading by three and the Wildcats were setting up their final possession to try and tie the game ... her driving layup with 1 second left in regulation forced overtime in win at Arkansas ... Earned a spot on the Omni Hotels Classic All-Tournament Team (at Colorado) ... Team leader in 3-point-play opportunities ... started last 12 g More on Christinaki: one of the team's top two scorers throughout the season (overall and in SEC games) ... Among all SEC freshmen in league games ranked: No. 2 Scoring, No. 1 Assists (No. 6 among ALL players) and No. 1 Assist/Turnover Ratio (No. 7 among ALL players) ... Three-Time SEC Freshman Athlete of the Week (Feb. 2, Jan. 12, Dec. 15) ... Gator Holiday Classic All-Tournament Team ... 15 double-figure scoring games (2nd on team), team's leading scorer in EIGHT games (leads team), team's assists leader in 17 games (most on team - and is NOT a point guard) ... team-high 16 pts in OT win at Arkansas (Jan. 29), w/ 4 pts in OT including the go-ahead bucket with 17 seconds left ... Against Vanderbilt scored 11 points consecutive points in a seven-minute span of the fourth quarter to finish with a career-high 22 points, the highest individual scoring output by a Gator this season ... scored five points during a game-changing 13-2 run over the final 2:11 of the third quarter against Texas A&M that erased an eight-point deficit ... In the upset win against No. 12 Kentucky, scored the final five points of the game that included a big steal resulting in a three-point-play with four seconds remaining First-team and second-team All-SEC honorees, All-Freshman team, All-Defensive team, along with Player, Coach and Freshman, Defensive Player, 6th Player and Scholar-Athlete of the Year were chosen by the league's 14 coaches. Florida is the No. 4 seed in the SEC Tournament and earned a double-round by into the quarterfinal round where they will play on Friday at 2:30 p.m. at Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville. The complete 2016 SEC Women's Basketball Postseason Awards follow. First Team All-SEC Jessica Jackson, Arkansas Shacobia Barbee, Georgia Makayla Epps, Kentucky Victoria Vivians, Mississippi State Alaina Coates, South Carolina Tiffany Mitchell, South Carolina A'ja Wilson, South Carolina Courtney Walker, Texas A&M Second Team All-SEC Ronni Williams, Florida Tiaria Griffin, Georgia Evelyn Akhator, Kentucky Janee Thompson, Kentucky Sophie Cunningham, Missouri Jordan Frericks, Missouri Jordan Jones, Texas A&M Courtney Williams, Texas A&M All-Freshman Eleanna Christinaki, Florida Caliya Robinson, Georgia Maci Morris, Kentucky Teaira McCowan, Mississippi State Sophie Cunningham, Missouri Cierra Porter, Missouri Te'a Cooper, Tennessee Anriel Howard, Texas A&M All-Defensive Simone Westbrook, Florida Shacobia Barbee, Georgia Dominique Dillingham, Mississippi State A'ja Wilson, South Carolina Jordan Jones, Texas A&M Coach of the Year: Dawn Staley, South Carolina Player of the Year: A'ja Wilson, South Carolina Freshman of the Year: Sophie Cunningham, Missouri Defensive Player of the Year: A'ja Wilson, South Carolina 6th Woman of the Year: Chelsea Jennings, Texas A&M Scholar-Athlete of the Year: Marjorie Butler, Georgia
Andrew Spivey
Andrew always knew he wanted to be involved with sports in some capacity. He began by coaching high school football for six years before deciding to pursue a career in journalism. While coaching, he was a part of two state semifinal teams in the state of Alabama. Given his past coaching experience, he figured covering recruiting would be a perfect fit. He began his career as an intern for Rivals.com, covering University of Florida football recruiting. After interning with Rivals for six months, he joined the Gator Country family as a recruiting analyst. Andrew enjoys spending his free time on the golf course and watching his beloved Atlanta Braves. Follow him on Twitter at @AndrewSpiveyGC.