The consolation game of the FIU Thanksgiving Classic in Miami had the reassuring result the UF women’s basketball team was hoping for.
The Gators (3-3) played their second game in U.S. Century Bank Arena and won 71-60 over FIU on Sunday behind improved shooting, including a 25-point performance by Jordan Jones.
“When you win on someone else’s home floor, you have to be happy,” coach Amanda Butler said.
Coming off the 61-47 loss the team suffered on Friday against St. John’s, UF bended but did not break against the Golden Panthers.
“There was no doubt in my mind honestly that we would win this game,” Jones said. “I know the fight of this team and the fight of our coaching staff, and we knew we weren’t coming back to Gainesville winless.”
UF led the game for the majority of the first half before FIU (2-4) knotted the game at 25, but a Jones 3-pointer — her first points of the game — gave the Gators a lead they would never give up, despite a feisty effort from the Golden Panthers throughout the game.
Butler changed up the starting lineup from Friday, plugging in Azania Stewart and Jennifer George, and the new frontcourt yielded results. The pair only combined for 10 points, but also chipped in 11 rebounds.
Feeding the ball to the post was a focal point for the team in practice between the two tournament games.
“Our post was huge,” Jones said. “They demanded the ball. The post set the tone and we followed their lead. One of our main goals of this game was to not let teams think we’re just an outside team.”
Sharielle Smith notched 12 points and was one rebound shy of a double-double. Fellow senior Steffi Sorensen chipped in 10 points after going scoreless against St. John’s but continued to make her presence felt on the boards as she finished with eight rebounds, five of which were offensive boards.
Jones was the biggest beneficiary of the improved post game. She scored 17 second-half points and lit up the Panthers, going 9 of 16 from the field, including a 50 percent effort from beyond the arc. The whole team rebounded from a pedestrian shooting night on Friday and nailed 12 of 26 3-pointers in the game.
Despite the Gators’ superior offensive statistics, FIU clawed until the end of the game coming within 4 points. The teams traded turnovers, and it wasn’t until Jones and Sorensen drained four consecutive free throws — UF’s first made free throws of the night — that the game was put out of reach.
“That’s what makes us confident that we can play with anyone in the country. It’s not our size, our athleticism, our experience — it’s none of those things,” Butler said. “It’s our fight. That’s where our confidence is rooted.”
A radio broadcast contributed to this report.
