Three Florida players recorded double-figure point totals and the Gators tied the school’s single-game record for blocks with 14 Saturday afternoon, allowing the Gators to hold off UCF for a 77-67 victory in the opening round of the 2010 Preseason Women’s National Invitation Tournament in front of 3,124 fans at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center.
The Gators (1-0) led by as many as 22 points with 9:27 remaining in the game before UCF began chipping away at its deficit. Trailing 61-39, the Knights used a 14-2 run over the next 4:12 to cut within 10 points, 63-53. Three consecutive UCF layups brought the Knights as close as five points, 67-62, on a Gevenia Carter basket with 2:25 left on the clock.
But Florida made key free throws down the stretch to secure the victory.
“I was really proud that we sustained good effort throughout the game,” Florida head coach Amanda Butler said. “Our performance was very inconsistent, but I thought our effort was consistent throughout. UCF did a great job getting ready for us and had every expectation of beating us. We had a slow start, but we did a good job of bouncing back and maintaining our composure. We did a better job in the second half, especially with turnovers. Monday night will be a really quick turnaround and that will be a challenge for us.”
Florida will face Charlotte at 7 p.m. ET Monday in the Stephen C. O’Connell Center in the second round of the Preseason WNIT. The 49ers advanced to the tournament’s second round with a 72-40 victory against Iona Saturday. Prior to coming to Florida for the 2008 season, Butler coached Charlotte from 2005-07.
The Gators’ 14 blocks as a team against UCF tied the school single-game record originally set on Dec. 20, 1983 against Hawaii.
Freshman guard Jaterra Bonds recorded a team-high 15 points in her Gator debut. Bonds added four rebounds in three assists in 29 minutes of action. Fellow newcomer Lanita Bartley, a transfer guard from nearby Santa Fe College, followed with 12 points and a game-high four steals in just 18 minutes of play. Junior forward Ndidi Madu was the third Gator to reach double-figures with 12 points, including a perfect 4-for-4 from the free-throw stripe, and four rebounds.
Freshman guard Kayla Lewis became the first Florida freshman to start the opening game of her career since Sha Brooks did so against St. Francis (N.Y.) on Nov. 18, 2005. Lewis and junior center Azania Stewart each added nine points in the game, while Stewart swatted a game-high four blocks and Lewis added three rejections.
Sophomore center Jennifer George and freshman forward Deaundra Young each brought down a game-high eight rebounds.
The Gators shot 41.0 (25-of-61) percent from the floor in the game, including a 40.0 (6-of-15) clip from beyond the arc, led by redshirt freshman Lily Svete, who hit 3 of 5 3-pointers for 9 points. Florida also connected on 21-of-28 free throws and won the rebound battle 54-41. The Gators were tenacious on the glass, scoring 24 second-chance points and 34 points in the paint.
UCF shot 33.8 (26-of-77) percent from the floor and connected on just 52.6 (10-of-19) percent of its free throws. The Knights forced the Gators into 24 turnovers, which resulted in 28 UCF points.
UCF (0-1) was led by a game-high 19 points from Aisha Patrick, who was one of four Knights to reach double-figure point totals. Senior D’Nay Daniels followed with 14 points and a team-high seven rebounds, while Gevenia Carter and Chelsie Wiley added 12 points apiece.
FLORIDA 77, UCF 67
Game 1 / WNIT first round / Friday, Nov. 12, 2010 / Stephen C. O’Connell Center / Gainesville, Fla.
UCF (67): D’Nay Daniels 5-18 3-4 14, Erika Jones 2-6 2-5 6, Angelica Mealing 0-5 1-2 1, Aisha Patrick 9-13 1-1 19, Chelsie Wiley 5-15 0-0 12, Gevenia Carter 4-10 3-7 12, Ashia Kelly 0-2 0-0 0, Racine Davis 0-0 0-0 0, Jeslisa Caldwell 1-3 0-0 3, Sarah Green 0-5 0-0 0, Leah Paige 0-0 0-0 0. TOTALS 26-77 10-19 67.
Field-goal shooting: 26 of 77 for 33.8 percent. 3-point shooting: 5 of 15 for 31.3 percent (Wiley 2-9, Daniels 1-1, Carter 1-2, Caldwell 1-2, Kelly 0-2). Free-throw shooting: 10 of 19 for 52.6 percent. Rebounds: 41 (Daniels 7, Patrick 6, Jones 5. Assists: 8 (Daniels 2, Patrick 2, Carter 2). Blocked shots: 2 (Daniels 1, Davis 1). Steals: 8 (Patrick 3, Wiley 3). Turnovers: 15 (Jones 3, Mealing 3). Fouls (fouled out): 20 (Daniels 5, 6.1 seconds second half). Technical fouls: None.
FLORIDA (77): Ndidi Madu 4-6 4-4 12, Azania Stewart 2-5 5-6 9, Lanita Bartley 4-8 4-4 12, Kayla Lewis 3-10 3-6 9, Jordan Jones 1-6 0-0 3, Jaterra Bonds 4-7 5-8 15, Lily Svete 3-5 0-0 9, Deana Allen 1-2 0-0 2, Brittany Shine 0-2 0-0 0, Deaundra Young 1-4 0-0 2, Jennifer George 2-6 0-0 4. TOTALS 25-61 21-28 77.
Field-goal shooting: 25 of 61 for 41.0 percent. 3-point shooting: 6 of 15 for 40.0 percent (Svete 3-5, Bonds 2-3, Jones 1-4, Bartley 0-1, Lewis 0-2). Free-throw shooting: 21 of 28 for 75.0 percent. Rebounds: 54 (George 8, Young 8, Lewis 6, Stewart 5). Assists: 13 (Bonds 3, Jones 2, Lewis 2). Blocked shots: 14 (Stewart 4, Lewis 3, Young 2, George 2). Steals: 8 (Bartley 4, Jones 2). Turnovers: 24 (Bonds 7, Madu 4, Lewis 3, Allen 3). Fouls (fouled out): 16 (none). Technical fouls: None.
Halftime: Florida 39, UCF 29. Officials: Mark Zentz, Bill Titus, Metta Roberts. Attendance: 3,124. Records: Florida 1-0, 0-0 SEC; UCF 0-1, 0-0 C-USA. Next game: Florida vs. Charlottte, Monday, Nov. 15, 6 p.m., WNIT second round.