Florida Gators

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The No. 20/21-ranked University of Florida women's basketball team fought for 40 minutes, but cold shooting was its demise in a 71-61 loss to Georgia on Thursday night.
 
The Gators shot just 34 percent (23 of 68) from the field and only made 10 of their 22 attempts at the free-throw line in the loss.
 
Redshirt senior guard Cassie Peoples scored a team-high 15 points, while junior forward Ronni Williams finished with a solid all-around game, logging 12 points and team highs in rebounds (nine) and assists (four). Freshman guard Eleanna Christinaki was the only other Gator to reach double figures, as she posted a stat line of 11 points, five rebounds and two assists.
 
How It Happened
After the Gators raced out to an early lead, Georgia took over and held a nine-point edge (19-10) by the end of the first quarter. A 7-0 run by UF—which featured a layup from Williams, a three from Christinaki and a layup by Simone Westbrook—cut the deficit to two, but the Bulldogs eventually took a 33-22 lead into the halftime locker room.
 
Although UF trailed by as many as 21 points late in the third quarter, it staged a furious rally to get back into the game.
 
Down 46-25 with 3:28 left in the third quarter, Peoples and Haley Lorenzen scored 13 of Florida's next 14 points to make it an 11-point game with 8:55 remaining in regulation. A corner three from Peoples brought the crowd to its feet at the 6:08 mark, as her triple chopped the deficit to single digits for the first time since the 1:05 mark of the second quarter.
 
Florida pulled within five points inside the final 30 seconds of play before the Bulldogs trumped its comeback efforts, as Georgia converted 11-of-14 free throws in the final minute.
 
Records:

• Florida: 14-3, 2-2 SEC
• Georgia: 13-4, 1-3 SEC

 
Florida vs. Georgia Series History

• Each of the last six games, as well as 13 of the last 14 games, of the Florida-Georgia series has been decided by 10 points or less
• Georgia leads the overall series, 52-15, and has won two straight and six of the last seven versus the Gators
• The teams will play again on February 21 in Athens

Gator Starters

• Eleanna Christinaki, Haley Lorenzen, January Miller, Carlie Needles, Ronni Williams

News and Numbers of Note

• Cassie Peoples logged her 10th double-digit scoring effort, the most such outings by a Gator this season
• With her 3-pointer at the 8:55 mark of the fourth quarter, Peoples scored her 800th career point
• Christinaki and Williams both recorded their ninth double-figure scoring game of the season
• Florida has now recorded 10-plus steals in 15 of its 17 games this season
• Tonight marked the fourth time this season the Gators held their opponent under 20-percent shooting from 3-point range
• UF committed just 18 turnovers, marking the sixth time this season it had fewer than 20 giveaways, as well as its first loss of the season when committing fewer than 20 miscues
• Florida's 61 points were its fewest of the season, while its 33.8 shooting percentage was its second-lowest and its 45.4 free throw percentage (10-22) was its lowest of the year after entering the game converting 70.8 percent from the line.

 
 
Quotes from the Court
Florida Head Coach Amanda Butler
Opening statement…
"I'm really disappointed in the way we played in the first half tonight, but you have to give Georgia all the credit for that. They're a team that really prides themselves on that, and held us to a difficult field goal percentage, and we helped them out with that.
"Our shot selection was very poor and we just had some defensive miscues. Our rebounding intensity was nowhere close to our best. You have to give Georgia credit though, they came in hungry and looking for their first SEC win and they brought it tonight.

"It's SEC play. The best teams are the most resilient teams and thank goodness we get another chance to play Georgia again, and thank goodness we get a chance to play on Sunday."
On the Gators' shot selections…
"I don't want to take anything away from the Georgia defense but I thought our shot selections were very poor. In particular in the first quarter it was our season low for paint touches. We settled for jump shots and threes. Our decision making with the ball was one that doesn't reflect well on our offense."

On team's effort tonight in second half…
"I totally expected that. That is who we are. That fight and that toughness and that attitude is who we are. I thought we also showed some (immaturity), however, and that doesn't sit well with our style of play.

"You can't play one good quarter and expect good results. We shot 55 percent in the fourth, but (we) weren't the same team in the first three."

On Carlie Needles' leadership…
"Our team responds to her senior leadership and she knows when it's time to get them rallied and fired up. I didn't send Carlie into any huddles tonight. That's just her being an experienced leader. She was not having one of her best games and she went to inspire those who would be on the floor."
 
Florida Junior Guard/Forward Ronni Williams
On how the team can avoid a repeat of tonight…
"It's all about accountability. We hold each other accountable for nights like tonight and we'll regroup and get better through practice."
 
Georgia Head Coach Joni Taylor
On having the momentum and building up a lead in the game…
"We did, and we took advantage of opportunities. Florida tried to get up and press us and try and take the ball out of Marjorie's hands. Our other players tonight were good about stepping up and bringing the ball up the floor. We are good at attacking them and getting by their front line. We were using that to get easy buckets at the rim."
On staying aggressive in the final minutes of the game…
"It is not easy to do, especially with the combination we had. At one point we had Halle Washington at the point during the press and she does not really do that. Considering all the combinations we had, I was really proud. They kept their composure and everyone contributed tonight."
Postgame Links

• Game Highlights
• SEC Network Recap
• Postgame Press Conference (Coach Butler, Ronni Williams)
• Final Box (PDF)
• Final Box (HTML)
• Photo Gallery

 
Up Next for the Gators

• Florida will play its second consecutive home game, playing host to LSU on Sunday (Jan. 17) at 2 p.m. ET. SEC Network + will stream live coverage of the game.

 
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