ORONO, Maine – Azania Stewart was named the Most Outstanding Player and Jordan Jones earned a spot on the All-Tournament Team as the pair led Florida’s team effort in its 52-43 victory over Navy in the Dead River Company Classic championship game Saturday afternoon at Alfond Arena on the University of Maine campus.
Stewart totaled 24 rebounds during the two-game event, including a career-high 14 during Saturday’s win, while Jones scored 18 points, with 12 coming from beyond the arc in a pair of low scoring victories. Jones, who also was named to the Preseason WNIT All-Tournament Team, has a 3-pointer in nine consecutive games.
Freshman Jaterra Bonds led the Gators with 11 points on Saturday, as she hit 4-of-8 from the floor for Florida, which struggled with its shot for the third consecutive game by connecting on 32.3 percent (20-62).
In spite of the tough shooting night, UF head coach Amanda Butler was pleased the Gators (5-1) were able to come away with the win and earn the tournament title.
“We did what we came here to do and that was win a championship,” Butler said. “We didn’t anticipate it wasn’t going to be a pretty tournament for us, but at the same time, there were a lot of moments when we could have hung our heads and were pretty deep in a rut but still found a way to get ourselves out. I still feel like we put together two games that were tough. When you can win two basketball games and not play your best, then that makes you optimistic about the future.”
Florida held Navy without a field goal for the final 9:02 of the game, closing out the tight contest on a 13-2 run. The game featured 14 lead changes and seven tied scores.
All five of Florida’s games this season have been decided by 10 points or less and the Gators have won the rebounding battle in every game this season, including a 45-33 margin against Navy, which shot just 30.2 percent during the game and 23.8 percent in the second half.
The Gators return to action on Tuesday, Nov. 30, when the team plays host to Old Dominion (3-1) in the O’Connell Center with tipoff scheduled for 7 p.m.
FLORIDA 52, NAVY 43
Game 6 / Saturday, Nov. 27, 2010 / Dead River Company Classic / Hosted by University of Maine / Alfond Arena / Orono, Maine / Championship Game
FLORIDA (52) – Ndidi Madu 2-8 0-0 4, Azania Stewart 4-11 1-3 9, Lanita Bartley 3-4 0-1 7, Kayla Lewis 0-3 0-0 0, Jordan Jones 3-11 0-0 9, Jaterra Bonds 4-8 1-2 11, Deana Allen 1-5 1-2 4, Brittany Shine 1-2 0-0 2, Deaundra Young 0-3 0-0 0, Lily Svete 2-7 0-0 6, Jennifer George 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 20-62 3-8 52.
Field-goal shooting: 20 of 62 for 32.3 percent. 3-point shooting: 9 of 25 (Jones 3-10, Bonds 2-5, Svete 2-5, Bartley 1-1, Allen 1-3, Lewis 0-1) for 36.0 percent. Free-throw shooting: 3 of 8 for 37.5 percent. Rebounds: 45 (Stewart 14, Madu 5). Assists: 13 (Bartley 5, Bonds 3). Blocked shots: 2 (Madu 1, George 1). Steals: 9 (Allen 3, Jones 2). Turnovers: 15 (Stewart 5). Total fouls (fouled out): 17 (none). Technicals: Madu at 18:05 of second half.
NAVY (43) – Jade Geif 0-4 4-8 4, Cassie Consedine 3-7 1-2 8, Erin Edwards 0-3 0-0 0, Chey Arvin 2-3 2-2 6, Angela Myers 3-13 2-5 10, Alix Membreno 1-4 0-0 2, Megan Matheny 0-0 0-0 0, Audrey Bauer 4-9 3-4 13. Totals 13-43 12-21 43.
Field-goal shooting: 13 of 43 for 30.2 percent. 3-point shooting: 5 of 13 (Bauer 2-2, Myers 2-5, Consedine 1-2, Geif 0-1, Edwards 0-3) for 38.5 percent. Free-throw shooting 12 of 21 for 57.1 percent. Rebounds: 33 (Myers 7, Arvin 5). Assists: 8 (Myers 3, Geif 2). Blocked shots: 2 (Myers 1, Membreno 1). Steals: 5 (Edwards 2). Turnovers: 15 (Arvin 6, Myers 4). Total fouls (fouled out): 10 (none). Technicals: none.
Halftime: Florida 25, Navy 24. Points in the paint: Florida 16, Navy 8. Points off turnovers: Florida 12, Navy 11. Second-chance points: Florida 9, Navy 6. Fast-break points: Florida 0, Navy 0. Bench points: Florida 23, Navy 15. Score tied: 7 times. Lead changed: 14 times. Largest lead: Florida by 9 (52-43) at 0:54 of second half; Navy by 4 (24-20) at 4:57 of first half.
Attendance: 1,340. Officials: John Riordan, Maggie Tieman, Rita Roach. Records: Florida 5-1, Navy 4-2. Next UF game: Tuesday, Nov. 30 vs. Old Dominion at Stephen C. O’Connell Center, 7 p.m.