If Amanda Butler could have picked the opponent she would have had her Florida Gators beat to earn the 100th victory of her coaching career, it certainly wouldn’t have been Charlotte. After all, it was at Charlotte that Butler, a former Florida standout, won 40 games to grab the attention of her alma mater when it needed a new coach before the 2007-08 season.
Unfortunately, you can’t always get what you want, so Florida’s 76-70 victory over Charlotte in a second-round Preseason WNIT game Monday night at the O’Connell Center will be the milestone 100th victory for Butler, whose Gators now travel to Chicago to play DePaul (2-0) in the semifinals Thursday night at 8 p.m.
Co-captain Jordan Jones scored 19 points and fellow co-captain Azania Stewart had the second double-double (13 points, 10 rebounds) of her career. Stewart scored 11 of the points in the second half for the Gators, who got points from 10 of their 11 players.
Freshman Brittany Shine, who finished with 11 points in 11 minutes of playing time, scored nine consecutive points early and gave Florida a 14-point lead midway through the first half, but the 49ers (1-1) fought their way back into the contest and took their first lead of the second half, 49-48, with just over 13 minutes remaining.
The lead changed hands on four straight possessions, before Jones nailed a 3-pointer with 11:22 on the clock and the Gators were able to stave off every charge the rest of the game as the 49ers drew within one point four more times after Jones’ trey but would never retake the lead.
“There weren’t a whole lot of pretty moments and when you can win ugly, and grind it out like that, you feel really good and confident. That’s how we feel right now,” Butler said. “What’s special about this team is that there are so many different ways we can make plays. We need our consistency to get better and that’s what we’ll continue to challenge, but as long as we keep fighting like that, I feel good about our chances.”
Florida shot 40.9 percent (27-66) from the floor and held a slight 39-38 rebound edge over Charlotte, which hit 47.6 percent during the game, with 40 points coming in the paint. Epiphany Woodson led all scorers with 23 points, as she hit 9-of-17 for the 49ers, who also got 13 points from Kendria Holmes and nine points and 13 rebounds from Jennifer Hailey.
Charlotte opened the second-half scoring and the teams traded scores eight times until Jaterra Bonds came up with a steal and Lily Svete knocked down a 16-footer that ended the streak and gave the Gators a 47-42 lead. Bonds finished with three steals and a game-high six assists.
Epiphany Woodson, who had a game-high 23 points, nailed a 3-pointer that cut Florida’s lead to one and followed shortly afterward with a pair of free throws that gave the 49ers a 49-48 lead, their first of the game since the opening bucket that came with 13:07 remaining. The deficit was short-lived, as freshman Kayla Lewis hit a layup and put Florida back on top, 50-49, with 12:43 to play. But Jennifer Hailey hit a short shot to put Charlotte back on top 51-50.
Coming out of a timeout, Bonds found a streaking Jones, who squared up for a 3-pointer and gave the Gators a 53-51 lead. After one free throw for the visitors, Stewart hit a short jumper and gave Florida a three-point cushion, 55-52. The lead became five points, 61-56, after Brittany Shine’s layup with 7:50 to go. Charlotte got within a point on a couple of occasions, but Bonds drove the lane, was fouled and sank a free throw to put Florida up 69-63 with 1:24 remaining. Florida’s final seven points came on free throws.
The other Preseason WNIT semifinal sends South Dakota to Purdue Thursday for a 7 p.m. game. The two semifinal winners will meet on Sunday for the championship.
FLORIDA 76, CHARLOTTE 70
Game 2 / Monday, Nov. 15, 2010 / Stephen C. O’Connell Center / Gainesville, Fla.
CHARLOTTE (70): Kendria Holmes 6-11 0-1 13, Amanda Dowe 1-2 2-4 4, Shannon McCallum 3-10 0-0 7, Paige McCallum 2-2 0-0 4, Epiphany Woodson 9-17 4-4 23, Lanie Whitaker 0-1 0-0 0, Jai Forney 0-1 0-0 0, Katie Meador 0-0 0-0 0, Jessica Johnson 1-3 0-0 2, Jennifer Hailey 4-10 1-4 9, Gabby Tyler 4-6 0-0 8. Totals 30-63 7-13 70.
Field-goal shooting: 30 of 63 for 47.6 percent. 3-point shooting: 3 of 13 (Holmes 1-2, S. McCallum 1-4, Woodson 1-4, Whitaker 0-1, Forney 0-1, Johnson 0-1) for 23.1 percent. Free-throw shooting: 7 of 13 for 53.8 percent. Rebounds: 38 (Hailey 13, P. McCallum 6). Assists: 12 (Holmes 4, Woodson 3, S. McCallum 3). Blocked shots: 5 (Tyler, Hailey, Johnson, Woodson, S. McCallum). Steals: 6 (Dowe 2, Woodson 2). Turnovers: 20 (Holmes 6, S. McCallum 4). Fouls (fouled out): 23 (S. McCallum, 25.7 seconds left). Technicals: None.
FLORIDA (76): Lanita Bartley 1-5 4-4 6, Kayla Lewis 2-6 1-1 5, Ndidi Madu 3-9 2-3 8, Azania Stewart 5-9 3-4 13, Jordan Jones 5-10 6-7 19, Jaterra Bonds 1-6 2-4 4, Brittany Shine 5-9 0-0 11, Desundra Young 3-6 0-0 6, Lily Svete 1-4 0-0 2, Jennifer George 0-1 0-0 0, Deana Allen 1-1 0-1 2. Totals 27-66 18-24 76.
Field-goal shooting: 27 of 66 for 40.9 percent. 3-point shooting: 4 of 16 (Jones 3-5, Shine 1-2, Bonds 0-4, Lewis 0-2, Svete 0-2, Bartley 0-1) for 25 percent. Free-throw shooting: 18 of 24 for 75 percent. Rebounds: 39 (Stewart 10, Lewis 5, Jones 5). Assists: 16 (Bonds 6, Bartley 4). Blocked shots: 2 (Young 1, George 1). Steals: 8 (Bonds 3, Bartley 3). Turnovers: 14 (Bonds 3). Fouls (fouled out): 15 (none). Technicals: None.
Halftime: Florida 37, Charlotte 33. Points in the paint: Charlotte 40, Florida 34. Bench points: Charlotte 19, Florida 25. Points off turnovers: Charlotte 15, Florida 26. Second-chance points: Charlotte 7, Florida 19. Fast-break points: Charlotte 10, Florida 8. Score tied 3 times. Lead changes: 5. Largest leads: Charlotte by 2, 2-0 at 19:44 of first half; Florida by 14, 21-7, at 12:06 of first half. Officials: Ed Sidlasky, Dawn Marsh, Ken Drayton. Attendance: 713. Records: Charlotte 1-1, Florida 2-0. Next game: Florida at DePaul, WNIT semifinals, Thursday at 8 p.m.
WNIT PRESEASON TOURNAMENT
Monday / Nov. 15 / Second round
Florida 76, Charlotte 70
DePaul 82, Missouri State 66
Purdue 79, Toledo 66
South Dakota State 76, Hampton 64
Thursday / Nov. 18 / Semifinals
Florida (2-0) at DePaul (2-0), 8 p.m.
South Dakota State (2-0) at Purdue (2-0), 7 p.m.
Sunday / Nov. 21 / Championship
Semifinal winners, TBD