There's nothing like playing near home.
Junior guard Sha Brooks will get that opportunity again this weekend as she leads the Gators into the Southeastern Conference Tournament in Nashville, Tenn., beginning Thursday.
Brooks, a native of Jackson, Tenn., flashed a big grin Monday when she started talking about playing near where she grew up. She expects to see a lot of friendly faces in the Sommet Center.
"I have a lot of people coming to the game," Brooks said. "To be able to play in Tennessee again - it's great. I love playing in Tennessee because there's so many people, so many fans that come and support us who are from Tennessee. It'll be a great thing."
No. 7 seed UF (17-12, 6-8 SEC) faces No. 10 seed South Carolina (15-14, 4-10 SEC) at 3:30 p.m. ET.
"South Carolina is a team that has continued to improve throughout the season," UF coach Amanda Butler said. "They make great adjustments game to game and even half to half when you play them."
This will be the third matchup between the two teams. The Gators won 60-57 on Jan. 27 in Columbia, S.C., and the Gamecocks took the game in Gainesville 69-65 on Feb. 24. As the scores show, both games were close until the end. South Carolina guard Jordan Jones sank a potentially game-tying 30-footer just moments after the buzzer in the first game.
UF's home loss a few weeks ago hurt for a multitude of reasons. Not only was it Senior Day, but it was also the Gators' best chance to reach a .500 record in conference play, which would have given them a better shot at an NCAA Tournament bid.
"Meeting them for the third time is certainly not ideal," Butler said. "I don't know who, when you look at the league, 'Well, we'd like to play them.' There's no one that is going to be easy to face."
