It wasn't much of a contest for UF on Wednesday night against Coppin State.
More than anything in the Gators' 75-34 win it was a chance for UF to get all of its bench players some more experience before the Southeastern Conference season starts.
"For our younger players, it just gives them an opportunity to have more game minutes, which is a feeling we can't create in practice," UF coach Amanda Butler said.
The biggest, and perhaps most exciting, bench move of the game was when center Aneika Henry ran from the Gators' bench in the first minute of the second half to un-wedge the ball from the rim at the other end of the court.
Coppin State's shot got stuck and the Gators retained the ball on the possession arrow.
But when the ball remained in between the rim and the glass and no one was making a move, Henry decided to come off the bench and tip the ball out, drawing a loud applause from the crowd.
Everything else in the blowout was a mere formality, highlighted by UF's 3-point shooting.
Steffi Sorensen and Jennifer Mossor hit back-to-back-to-back threes to start the game and get the Gators off to a 7-of-13 shooting performance from beyond the arc.
"When we hit, that's always the plan," Butler said. "Did I expect us to start the ball game with, I think we started with 3 threes, right off the bat? Not necessarily. But was it a good thing for us? Yeah, it shows that our shooters were paying attention as we were prepping for this team."
UF finished 10-for-19 from three-point range, just one short of tying the school record.
The rim seemed pretty big for junior guard Lonnika Thompson, who stacked up a career-high 13 points in the victory.
"I just looked at the starting five and saw how they were scoring and just took open threes as they were given to them," Thompson said.
Freshman guard Trumae Lucas continued to play at a high level, as she has the last few games, adding 10 points off the bench and setting her own career high.
"That's just good balance and I think a sign of good things to come," Butler said of Thompson and Lucas having career nights.
The Gators have won nine straight games and will now turn their attention to Florida A&M (4-2), who they'll face on Friday night at 7 in the O'Connell Center.
