Career Nights Pace the Gators Past Wisconsin for Eighth Straight Win

Thursday, December 10

Madison, WI

8:00 PM

Florida Gators

8-1

Wisconsin

3-5

Florida

Wisconsin

Eleanna Christinaki led four double-figure scorers with a career-best 21 points.

Career Nights Pace the Gators Past Wisconsin for Eighth Straight Win

Thursday, December 10, 2015 | Women's Basketball

Box Score

Freshman Eleanna Christinaki led the Gators in scoring.

MADISON, Wis. – Florida's guards combined for 75 points and guided the Gators to a 91-75 road win against Wisconsin at the Kohl Center Thursday evening.

The victory didn't come easily, however.

Wisconsin jumped out to a quick nine-point lead and held a one-point halftime advantage.

The Gators used a 28-9 run from the end of the first half into the third quarter – a span of 6:06 – that flipped a five-point deficit into a 14-point advantage, 67-53.

Wisconsin battled back with an 8-3 run and got within four points, 77-72, with 5:48 remaining in the game.

Simone Westbrook, who finished with a career-best 18 points to accompany six steals, five rebounds and four assists, halted the run with a bucket and Ronni Williams, who totaled four points with four rebounds before fouling out, hit a tough jumper inside and Florida was back up eight with just under five minutes to play.

Freshman Eleanna Christinaki scored a game and career-best 21 points, as she hit 7-of-9 from the field, including her only three-point attempt, and 6-of-8 free throws.

Cassie Peoples hit a season-best 20 points on 7-of-13 shots, including all five free throw tries.

Senior January Miller added 10 points that included the 800th of her career.

How it Happened
Florida scored the final four points of the first half to cut its deficit to one, 44-43, and carried that momentum into the second half where the Gators scored the first eight points and took a 51-44 lead.

After a three-pointer from Cayla McMorris, Florida continued its march when Peoples converted a three-point-play that started a 14-6 spurt and the Gators extended their lead to 67-53 with 4:19 left in the third quarter.

Florida carried a 70-62 lead into the fourth quarter, where Wisconsin staged a comeback early, getting within five points before Florida stepped up at the free throw line where the Gators scored their final eight points of the game.

Overall, UF hit a steady 21-of-27 from the line.

First Half at a Glance
Wisconsin used a 9-2 run early behind keen shooting, as the hosts hit five of their first six shot from the floor, as well as both free throw tries and held a 15-6 advantage just four minutes into the game.

Carla Batchelor sparked the Gators out of a timeout with an offensive rebound putback and started a run of six straight points.

The Badgers came right back with more accuracy and ended the first quarter on an 11-5 march to take a 26-17 lead behind a 64.7 percent field goal mark for the frame.

Florida stormed out and began the second quarter with Simone Westbrook's jumper and Batchelor's three sparking a 10-2 run that was capped by Eleanna Christinaki's outside hit and a three-pointer from Westbrook that cut UF's deficit to one.

Wisconsin came back with a trey from Dakota Whyte before Westbrook converted a pair of free throws and Ronni Williams sank a short shot and the Gators were tied at 31 with 5:39 left in the second quarter.

The teams traded scores and Wisconsin's lead grew to five twice, the second time with 45 seconds on the clock before Florida scored the final four points of the half, as Dyandria Anderson sank two free throws and Westbrook stole the inbounds pass and found a streaking Cassie Peoples, who hit the layup as the horn sounded and the Gators took a one-point deficit, 44-43, into the locker room.

Westbrook scored a team-high 12 points during those first 20 minutes.

Updated Records:

Florida 8-1
Wisconsin 3-5

Numbers of Note:

Florida took its first lead of the game on January Miller's three-pointer at the 8:40 mark of the third quarter (47-44)
The Gators trailed at halftime (44-43) for the fourth time this season.
It marks the fifth time in program history the Blue and Orange have competed in Wisconsin.
Tonight's win was Florida's first-ever over the University of Wisconsin.
Thursday night's contest extended the Gators' winning streak to eight games -- the first eight game stretch since the 2013-14 squad won nine straight.
Tonight's win marks the fourth triumph for UF outside of Gainesville and the third true "road" win on the season.
Both teams led by as much as nine points at one point in tonight's matchup:
Wisconsin largest lead: Nine points (1Q, 6:04)
Florida largest lead: 14 points (3Q, 4:19)
Florida's guards combined for 75 of UF's 91 points.
The Gators outscored Wisconsin in points off turnovers, 28-10.
UF's bench outscored the Badgers' non-starters, 56-14.
Wisconsin shot 54.8 percent (17-31) in the first half, the best in a half by a Gator opponent this season
UW's 44 first-half points were the second-most by a Gator opponent this year (Temple had 50)

Individual Numbers of Note:

Freshman Eleanna Christinaki scored a career-best 21 points
Senior Cassie Peoples scored a season-high 20 points (was 18 at Temple in season-opener)
Peoples also exceeded the 700-point milestone in her career (717) with tonight's performance.
Senior January Miler's three-pointer with 2:55 remaining in the second quarter pushed her over the 800-point plateau for her career
Senior guard Carla Batchelor dropped seven points in tonight's contest -- surpassing the 100-point milestone in her career (106).
Game Starters: Anderson, Christinaki, Needles, Lorenzen, Williams (entered game with 5-0 record)
Second-Half Starters: Batchelor, Fleming, Westbrook, Miler, Peoples

Quotes from the Court – UF Head Coach Amanda Butler
"It was a really impressive performance by our perimeter players tonight. I thought we set the tone early in the second half. We came out a little sluggish early and I could see some disappointment in them at halftime. That's a good feeling for a coach to be able to walk into a locker room at half time and not have to say a whole lot because the team wants more than what they were able to put on the court."

"The balance and distribution of the plays kept us going. Simone Westbrook's six steals were huge for us and Cassie Peoples showed tremendous energy of her own. To play at the pace we did tonight was an accomplishment with only surrendering 15 turnovers."

"It's easy to look at the scoresheet and see who scored the most points and think that's the story of the game. Of course those points contributed, but those five who started the second half came in and grabbed the momentum for us -- I'm really proud of that."

"I was surprised that Wisconsin came out and played as fast as they did. It was a great game plan and you half to give them credit for trying to beat us at our own game. They're a team that typically scores in the sixties and tonight they rung 75 points up on us. With that being said, I'm happy with how we responded to the challenge. We made plays and had players step up."

"Even when our post play is down like it was tonight, we had players step up and that's the type of team we have. Every night we have someone else step up. Where the posts can carry us at times, our guards took over for us and that's what makes us so dangerous -- we can score from anywhere."

"We weren't doing a good job of keeping people in front of us and contesting shots. At times we got a little aggressive but you have to give Wisconsin a great deal of credit for that."

"We're about to come up on exam time. We'll spend some time focusing our energy on tests but we're certainly ready to be back home in the O'Dome."

Next Gator Game:
Who: Gators host Robert Morris
When: Sunday, December 13 * 2 p.m. ET
Where: Stephen C. O'Connell Center * Gainesville, Fla.

Special Promotions for Sunday's Game:

Gators Snow Globes: The first 1000 fans in attendance will receive a free Florida Women's Basketball snow globe!
Toys for Tots: Fans who donate a new, unused toy upon entry will receive free admission to the game! Toys for Tots bin will be located inside the Gate 1 doors
Gators Kids Club Holiday Event: All Kids Club members and their families receive free admission to the game! Enjoy a pregame event in the lobby, an exclusive Kids Club pre-game tunnel, get holiday photos with Alberta and more!
Bring 3, Get In Free: Fans, bring 3 kids 17 years of age or younger and receive one free general admission ticket!
Family and Friends Night: All Back Court Club members, Gold Card, Platinum Card, and Season Pass holders receive 2 complimentary vouchers to bring family and friends to Florida Women's Basketball! Passes have been added to each season ticket holder's account
Postgame Layups: Following the game all children 12 and under can shoot post game layups on the court for 15 minutes. Meet at Gate 4 track area in 4th quarter to line up.