As the Florida Gators (9-3) prepare to take on the Samford Bulldogs (6-5, 1-2) this Wednesday night at the O’Connell Center at 7, Florida junior forward Jennifer George looks to bring the same ‘A’ game that earned the Southeastern Conference Player of the Week honors the past week. This was her first SEC player of the week award in her career.
In two days against two teams in the Gator Holiday Classic, George had a total of 34 points and 23 rebounds. This fueled her to be selected to her second all-tournament team and it was the first time she was named MVP of a tournament.
George was unstoppable in the tournament, hitting 13 of 18 field goal attempts. She tallied five blocks in the tournament, which increased her career total to 98. She is now two shy of becoming the eighth Gators player with 100 blocked shots.
George had her fourth and fifth double-doubles this season in those two games, which increased her streak of double-doubles to four. That’s the first time a Gator has put together as many since Vanessa hayden had four straight during the 2003-04 season.
This season, George is almost averaging a double-double with 14.2 points and 9.8 rebounds per game. Her performances in games can usually show if the Gators ended up in the win or loss column.
George is averaging a mere six points game in Florida’s losses compared to an impressive 16.9 points per game in wins. She’s also posted a .612 field goal percentage, so she can make shots when given the chance. The question is whether the Gators can get the ball to her in the paint, and in the disappointing losses to No. 11 Rutgers and Michigan, it was clear that they could not do it consistently.
The junior forward hopes to continue her dominating performances into SEC play, which is just around the corner. Florida’s first SEC matchup is against No. 8 Kentucky on Jan. 1.