When UF heads to Athens, Ga., on Sunday at 2:30 p.m. to face Georgia in the regular-season finale for both teams, there will be a lot on the line.
For one, the No. 17 Gators (23-5, 9-4 Southeastern Conference) don't want to head to the postseason having lost four of their last five games.
Aside from that, UF is still vying for a first-round bye in the SEC Tournament. A loss could knock the Gators out of one of the top four spots.
"That's more motivation to go in there and win," junior forward Sharielle Smith said. "We're the type of team that plays better under pressure when we have something to play for."
"When something huge is on the line, our mindset is completely different. We play tougher. We play like, 'Look, we've got to get this win.' It doesn't matter how we win, who we beat. We have to win."
If the seeding wasn't enough motivation for the Gators, playing one of their biggest rivals on their home floor is.
Georgia (15-12, 5-7 SEC) had lost five straight games entering Thursday night's game against Kentucky, so the Bulldogs desperately need a win against the Gators to salvage any hope of an NCAA Tournament berth.
UF expected Georgia's best shot anyway based on the teams' first meeting this season in Gainesville.
"Even if they hadn't lost five straight, just the fact that they lost to us already and it's at their gym, it's going to be hard," Smith said. "We, at this point, expect everybody's best shot. Everybody always steps up their game when they play us."
Junior guard Steffi Sorensen echoed what Smith had to say, but she knows the Gators brought the attention on themselves.
"As the year went on, our target on our back got bigger, and I think we got a taste of that as far as those three times we lost, people played their best games against us," Sorensen said.
The other thing Sunday's game will have in common with four of the Gators' five losses this season is that it will be on the road.
UF is still searching for that signature SEC road win after failing to achieve it at Auburn, Vanderbilt and LSU, three of the top five teams in the conference.
While the Bulldogs are not as highly touted this season as they have been in recent years, a win for the Gators in Athens could do a lot for their NCAA Tournament resume and seeding.
Smith appears ready for the challenge of facing the hostile environment and all that's at stake.
"I'm glad that that pressure's there because it makes me more confident," Smith said. "Our team is more confident when we have to play under pressure.
"Going to Georgia is going to be tougher than usual," she added. "We've already beat them, so they're going to be coming at us even harder."
The Gators will have to respond with their own intensity if they want to check off all this game entails on their list of things to do.
Winning will take care of everything.
