UF has not been giving teams a chance to breathe early in games lately, and it wasn't about to let Kentucky take a gasp of air on Thursday night.
The No. 12 Gators (19-2, 5-1 Southeastern Conference) jumped out to a 13-2 lead in the first four minutes of the game - the team's ongoing theme - and set the tone for their 74-59 win over the Wildcats (12-9, 2-4 SEC).
Kentucky spent the entire night trying to recover from UF's hot start, which got up to 22-4 with 11 minutes left in the first half, but in the end, the Gators outlasted the Wildcats.
"That is an indication of us trying to do what we do well and being more focused on how we play at our best," UF coach Amanda Butler said.
The Wildcats tried to scrap and claw their way back into the game in the second half, and did so, cutting the lead to 5 with 8:44 remaining.
That's when Sha Brooks seized control.
Brooks responded with an assist to Marshae Dotson for a fast-break layup and followed that with a layup of her own with seven minutes to go, pushing the lead to 59-50.
Brooks, who finished with a game-high 17 points and tied a career best with nine assists, added two more free throws to increase the lead to 12 with just under six minutes left.
"In tough situations like that, you've got to bear down and play hard for the rest of the minutes and try to get a win," the senior guard said. "You've got to. It's the SEC. You can't hold back anything."
Added Butler on Brooks' effort: "Sha plays very confidently, and our team has so much confidence in Sha that they know what she's going to do. We expect in that situation Sha is going to get the ball in her hands and make something happen for us."
Butler said when the lead was cut to 5, there was a feeling of frustration on the UF bench. So she called timeout and went to work in the huddle.
"One of the things that makes this team so special is that I can challenge them," Butler said. "I can call timeout and get in some people's faces or say, 'Hey, we need you to do this or do that,' in maybe not my friendliest voice. And they respond to that, and it's because they're winners."
Trumae Lucas was another thorn in Kentucky's side down the stretch.
The freshman guard hit shot after shot, stealing the Wildcats' momentum seemingly every time they cut into the lead. She tallied a career-high 14 points.
The Gators' uptempo style and aggressive defense gave the Wildcats fits like it has to almost every team they've played this season.
UF forced Kentucky into 23 turnovers and scored 25 points off them.
The Gators are now tied atop the SEC standings with Auburn, who lost at Georgia on Thursday night.
UF will travel to Arkansas to face the Razorbacks (12-8, 1-4 SEC) on Sunday at 3 p.m., and Butler doesn't want to hear about any first-place talk.
"All that matters is we play Arkansas next," Butler said. "We've got to go on the road and play in a very tough place against a team that has a lot of youth and is playing very, very well. That's all that really matters."
