The reasons are plenty why Amanda Butler’s Florida Gators (22-2, 8-1 SEC) are in first place in the Southeastern Conference. They play well as a unit, don’t turn the ball over much and they play lock down defense. They also know that at crunch time they have a go-to player in point guard Sha Brooks. Whether it’s on offense or defense, her fingerprints are all over every game and it’s gotten to the point that you could say as Sha Brooks goes, so go the Gators.
That was certainly the case Sunday night as the 11th-ranked Gators beat 12th-ranked and two-time defending NCAA champ Tennessee 66-57 at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center. Brooks scored a team-high 29 points and carried her team back from a seven-point deficit to score a huge win on national television.
“I don’t think she likes me very much,” said Tennessee coach Pat Summit of the Gators’ senior guard. “It’s amazing because of her toughness how she comes at you. Obviously she plays both ends of the floor, plays with great passion, makes big plays and takes care of the basketball.
“I think that she without a doubt has the biggest influence on how Florida plays the game. We don’t have a player that is going to come out and there and just demand that everybody step up their level of play.”
If there is anyone who is familiar with Brooks it’s Summit, who has seen her score at will in matchups against the Vols. Last year Brooks tallied 27 points in Knoxville against the Lady Vols. As a freshman, Brooks scored 25 points to lead the Gators to an overtime upset and their first ever win in Knoxville.
Sunday’s big performance didn’t come easy for Brooks as she struggled in the first half, shooting 30 percent from the field and only 4-8 at the free throw line. A lot of her misses came on easy shots in the lane.
“I did get frustrated early,” Brooks said. “I was penetrating to the basket and I missed a lot of layups and I missed a lot of free throws. I tried not to let my confidence get down and I just kept at it and kept at it.”
Her perseverance paid off as she rattled off 19 points in the second half. Perhaps none were bigger than the three pointers she drained to bring the Gators back into the game. With 7:05 left in the second half, Brooks came off a screen set by teammate Marshae Dotson at the top of the key and sank what would be the first of three triples to cut Tennessee’s lead to 50-46 with 7:05 left in the game.
That got the Gators going on a 21-7 run to close out the game, enabling them to beat Tennessee for only the third time in school history. It was a big win for Brooks, a Memphis, Tennessee native, as well as the rest of a senior class that has been a part of two of those wins.
“It’s just something about wanting to beat Tennessee,” Brooks said. “I’m not saying I don’t want to beat every other team, I just really, really want to beat Tennessee.”
The Gators have won seven straight games against SEC opponents, a school record and are off to the best start in school history, winning 22 of their 24 games. As Butler and the Gators continue SEC play and look toward the postseason, they will certainly continue to stress pressure defense and good post play, but the key will continue to be Brooks presence as a scorer and tone setter.