Florida seniors Steffi Sorensen (Jacksonville, Fla.) and Sharielle Smith (Bradenton, Fla.) combined for 31 points and 14 rebounds Sunday and the Gators posted their first win against a ranked opponent since Feb. 8, 2009, in a 64-57 upset of No. 20 Georgia in the Stephen C. O'Connell Center.
The Gators (14-13, 7-7 Southeastern Conference), who used their sixth different starting lineup in as many games, led by double-digits for the majority of the second half before failing to make a field goal in the game's final 8:49 and being forced to hang on for the victory. Florida connected on 75.9 percent (22-of-29) of its free throws, which allowed the team to distance itself from the Lady Bulldogs late in the game.
It marked UF's first win against a ranked opponent since downing No. 12 Tennessee on Feb. 8, 2009. It snapped a nine-game losing streak against ranked foes and marked the 43rd upset (a win against a higher-ranked team) in program history.
“To say this is a tremendous win is an understatement,” Florida head coach Amanda Butler said. “Everything we have been talking about in terms of what makes us a good team showed up tonight. We had great senior leadership, players making plays and we were hitting our free throws – all on the heels of what has been the most challenging stretch of our season.”
Sorensen tied her career high with 20 points, including five 3-pointers, and seven rebounds in 38 minutes of action, while Smith finished with 11 points and was a perfect 6-for-6 from the free-throw line.
Sophomore guard Jordan Jones (Suwanee, Ga.) scored 12 points, adding two 3-pointers and connecting on 6-of-7 attempts from the charity stripe. Freshman center Jennifer George (Orlando, Fla.) added nine points and a team-high nine rebounds in 24 minutes of action.
Florida shot 33.3 percent (17-of-51) from the floor in the game, struggling from the field in the second half, while out-rebounding Georgia 38-33. The Gators won despite being out-scored 28-14 in points in the paint. UF capitalized on 12 Lady Bulldog turnovers with 17 points off of those miscues.
Florida, which did not start a player taller than 5-foot-10, was forced to contend with a Georgia starting lineup that featured two 6-foot players, including 6-foot-5 Angel Robinson.
“When you look at our team, we didn't start anyone over 6-feet,” Sorensen said. “It's all about hustle, heart and who wants it more. It showed tonight. We aren't taller, but we definitely out-worked them, dove on the floor and did whatever we had to do in order to in. It just showed how hard we have worked the last couple of days.”
The Gators took a 33-21 advantage into the locker room at intermission after shooting 41.7 percent (10-of-24) from the floor in the opening period. Georgia was held to just 26.9 percent (7-of-26) field-goal efficiency and was out-rebounded 18-15. Florida converted each of its nine free-throw attempts in the opening period.
Georgia scored the first seven points of the game before the Gators surged back with eight consecutive points, capped off by a Sorensen 3-pointer at the 14:29 mark. That's when the Lady Bulldogs went cold from the floor, failing to score a basket for 3:22 and allowing Florida to push its advantage out to 13-9. Georgia rallied to move ahead 14-13 and, after a tie at 15-all, the Gators used an 11-2 run to go ahead 26-17 with 5:14 until intermission. That was part of a larger 18-6 run that sent the Gators to the locker room ahead 33-21.
The two teams traded points for much of the early part of the second half until back-to-back Georgia baskets in a 27-second span brought the Lady Bulldogs within eight at 38-30 with 15:31 left. Trumae Lucas (Greensboro, N.C.) responded with a basket and Sorensen followed with a 3-pointer from the top of the key to extend the UF advantage to 13, 43-30, at the 13:54 mark. The two squads continued to exchange points with the Gators consistently holding a double-digit advantage.
With Florida ahead 56-43, Georgia scored three consecutive baskets to whittle its deficit down to seven, 56-49, with 4:12 remaining in the game. With the Gators having gone cold from the field, the Lady Bulldogs used a 3-pointer by Meredith Mitchell to get within five, 59-54, with 1:34 left.
Following a Georgia turnover, Jones was fouled and knocked down both free throws to give Florida a seven-point cushion at 61-54 with 39.4 ticks remaining on the clock. On the ensuing possession, Candace Williams drained a 3 from the top of the key to bring the Lady Bulldogs within four, 61-57, with 28.3 seconds left. The Gators made 3-of-4 clutch free throws in the game's final 12 seconds to ice the victory.
Georgia (20-7, 7-7 SEC) was led by Porsha Phillips' team-high 14 points and game-high 12 rebounds as one of three Lady Bulldogs to finish with 10 or more points in the game.
Florida returns to action on Wednesday when it travels to Nashville, Tenn., to take on Vanderbilt for the second time this season. Tip-off in Memorial Gymnasium is slated for 7 p.m. ET and the game will be carried live on CSS and WBXY-FM (The Star 99.5 FM) in Gainesville.
POST-GAME NOTES
? Florida and Georgia met for the 56th time in program history, marking the second-longest rivalry in program history.
? Georgia is one of five ranked opponents the Gators are facing in their final six games of the 2009-10 season.
? It marked UF's first win against a ranked opponent since downing No. 12 Tennessee on Feb. 8, 2009.
? The win snapped a nine-game losing streak against ranked foes and marked the 43rd upset (a win against a higher-ranked team) in program history.
? The Gators are now 58-158 all-time vs. teams ranked in the Associated Press top 25 at the time of the game.
? Sunday's game marked Florida's 13th this season decided by 10 or fewer points. It also was the Gators' 10th in 14 SEC games decided by single digits.
? Florida has had 12 games decided by 10 or fewer points this season.
? Florida used its sixth different starting lineup in as many games and its 10th different starting five of the year. Head coach Amanda Butler started Jordan Jones, Sharielle Smith, Steffi Sorensen, Lonnika Thompson and Susan Yenser on Sunday.
? Senior forward Sharielle Smith appeared in her 120th career game on Sunday, tying her for eighth all-time in the program's record book.
? Senior guard Steffi Sorensen tied her career high with 20 points, matching her offensive output against Old Dominion on Dec. 11, 2009.
? Sorensen had five 3-pointers in the game and moved into sole possession of fourth place on the school's career three-point made list with 145.
POST-GAME QUOTES
FLORIDA HEAD COACH AMANDA BUTLER
“To say this is a tremendous win is an understatement. Everything we have been talking about in terms of what makes us a good team showed up tonight. We had great senior leadership, players making plays and we were hitting our free throws – all on the heels of what has been the most challenging stretch of our season. I am so proud of all of those things. It would have been easy coming in against a very good Georgia team to not expect a victory, but tonight our kids weren't going to be denied and I'm very, very proud of that.”
On how Florida was able to win despite not making a field goal in the final 8:49 …
“It was huge. They're [Georgia] such a talented team and they have five kids who can score more than one way. When we had our last media timeout, we talked about how it was like a football game and how time of possession was going to dictate the outcome. The longer we had the ball, the better chance we were going to have to win, and we responded. It is deflating when you're a shooter and you take a shot at that point in the game and miss it, but we had such a champion's response to not let that carry over into our rebounding or our hustle. I am especially proud of our post players. We've been really hard on those guys the last three or four ballgames since Azania [Stewart] has been out, really challenging them. They've struggled, but I thought Jennifer George and Sharielle Smith, in particular, were huge tonight. Susan Yenser playing the 4 was really effective. She didn't score a bunch of points or things that showed up statistically, but she had a very calming presence and was doing her job the best she could.”
On Florida facing a height disadvantage against Georgia …
“It was just a lot of tremendous individual effort for us to win with the five that we started vs. the five that they started the ballgame with. To see the confidence in the team's face was really inspiring.”
On the team's communication …
“Our team communicated the changes very well tonight. I thought we had seniors in particular doing a lot of talking and directing traffic. All in all, it was a very good collective effort.”
On the performance of freshman Jennifer George …
“It was a really solid game for [Jennifer] George, especially with what she was playing against. She has had games where she scored more and rebounded more, but the exciting thing about her is that she has so much good basketball ahead of her. This was a solid performance and she was a huge, huge factor in this win.”
#10 Steffi Sorensen, Sr., G
On the importance of Sunday's win against Georgia …
“This game was really important because the past couple of games haven't gone our way. We were looking to respond and this was a good way to come out in front of a lot of our fans and show we were not going to back down. It is a huge win, a rivalry win and that's what it's all about. We're really excited.”
On Florida's size disadvantage in the game …
“When you look at our team, we didn't start anyone over 6-feet. It's all about hustle, heart and who wants it more. It showed tonight. We aren't taller, but we definitely out-worked them, dove on the floor and did whatever we had to do in order to in. It just showed how hard we have worked the last couple of days.”
#24 Sharielle Smith, Sr., F
On Florida's size disadvantage in the game …
“It's what we've been practicing for. We've been preparing for that and we expected it to be a physical game. We've played against them before. With Z [Azania Stewart] out, we had to make a couple of different arrangements, but we've been preparing for that during practice. It wasn't anything we didn't expect.”
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