For UF, winning isn't a matter of physical ability, talent or size.
If the team only relied on those attributes, then the No. 9 Gators (22-2, 8-1 Southeastern Conference) would not have anywhere near the success they've had so far this season.
UF is undersized and outmatched against almost every team it faces, and the same was true, by far, against Tennessee on Sunday.
The Volunteers stood taller than the Gators at every position, and all five of their starters were 6 feet or taller.
To put it in perspective, UF forward Marshae Dotson is only 5-foot-11, and she's the tallest player in the Gators' starting lineup.
So how does this team win games? How do they match up with other teams when they're overmatched on paper 90 percent of the time?
For UF coach Amanda Butler, the answer is simple.
"When it comes down to it, it is effort, it is heart, it is desire," Butler said.
That is probably the best explanation, considering four of the Gators' starters this season were on the 9-22 squad from two years ago.
Want, passion, motivation - Butler could probably throw those words in there as well to describe and explain the reason for her team's success.
"When talent is fairly equal, it comes down to who wants it more," Butler said. "That's what we see from this team over and over and over again, is they're not going to be denied.
"When it comes down to it, I want the ball more than you do. I'm going to beat you to the spot. I'm going to dive and get on the floor before you do. It's those little things that are making the difference."
Those are the things Butler did so well in her career as a player at UF, and she has instilled the same qualities in her team now.
Butler said she even has to shorten drills in practice because the players get too physical or intense.
Tennessee coach Pat Summitt noticed the fight and the energy the Gators brought on Sunday, something she said her own team didn't do at times.
"The thing that impressed me so much watching them on tape is how hard they play, how passionate they are," Summitt said. "Clearly, they're not a team that's taking possessions off."
Summitt said UF's leader, Sha Brooks, knows how to motivate her team, but Summitt questioned whether doing so was necessary.
"I don't know if she has to do very much," Summitt said. "They're pretty motivated to begin with."
So to recap, the words used that best explain the Gators' success go as follows: effort, heart, desire, want, passion, motivation.
"We aren't taller than anybody," Butler said. "I don't feel like we have this huge talent advantage any night, but I've got so much confidence in how they play together, and they've got so much confidence in one another. And we know that if the outcome of the game is going to be determined by effort, it's going to be determined by pursuit of the ball and those sort of things, then we're going to be in good shape."
