With seven regular-season games, postseason tournaments and more than a month of basketball remaining, UF decided to go ahead and exceed its win total from last season on Sunday at Arkansas.
Like last year, the No. 12 Gators (20-2, 6-1 Southeastern Conference) didn't have much trouble in Fayetteville, Ark., downing the Razorbacks (12-10, 1-6 SEC) 94-78 to remain tied atop the SEC standings halfway through the conference season.
However, unlike last year's win, which gave UF its 13th victory of the season, the Gators reached the 20-win mark for the first time since 2006, becoming just the 10th UF team to do so.
"We'll take it," UF coach Amanda Butler said. "I hope that we're going to continue to find ways to get better and continue to play consistently at a high level."
For a little perspective, the '06 UF squad advanced to the NCAA Tournament but didn't pick up its 20th win until the last game of the regular season on Feb. 26.
Reaching the mark may not be a big surprise for this team, but how quickly it came is a good indication of how far the Gators have come from a year ago.
Dominating Arkansas shed a little light on UF's speedy success as well.
Sha Brooks scored 9 points in the first five minutes of the game to spark the Gators, who led by as many as 15 before the break. The senior finished with 25 points and 10 assists.
"What can you say about Sha Brooks?" Butler said. "She just raises her level when we need the level to be raised."
UF relied on the 3-point shot early and often, and it worked.
The Gators set a new school record with 13 threes from five different players, breaking the previous mark of 11.
"When you're on the road, you never expect that that's going to happen," Butler said. "That's not what you want to count on, but when it does, you've got a chance to beat someone on their home floor."
UF finished 13 of 21 for 62 percent from beyond the arc.
"It seemed like the threes were so timely, too," Butler said. "When we would have a little scoring drought or they would cut into our lead, one of our shooters would step up and hit."
UF continued to get quality production from its bench.
Junior guard Lonnika Thompson matched starter Marshae Dotson's 16 points. She gave UF the energy it needed in the second half and was the biggest contributor to the Gators' 30 bench points.
"It is a lot of fun to watch," Butler said of UF's depth. "That also is one of the things that makes this team very hard to prepare for."
The Gators had a field day sharing the ball as well. UF tallied 19 assists.
"Our shooters finished those shots today for whoever passed them the ball," Butler said. "It was not one of our best transition ballgames. So those assists came from players finishing plays in the half court."
A radio broadcast contributed to this report.
