The Gators had a full week, including Christmas, to dwell on their loss in the championship game of the Gator Holiday Classic to High Point on Dec. 21.
After being torched by the Panthers from the 3-point line in that game, the Gators (6-6) improved on their mistakes when they stifled Ohio (3-9) defensively in a 78-49 win.
“I was really proud of our response after Christmas,” coach Amanda Butler said. “We were confident that our best basketball was ahead of us. It feels very good, especially to win in this fashion.”
Forcing the Bobcats into turnovers using suffocating man-to-man defense, Florida used an 11-0 run after falling behind 8-7 early in the first half and never looked back.
Azania Stewart tied her career high in points with 18 and Jordan Jones scored 14 points, lighting up the Bobcats on 4-of-5 shooting from beyond the arc, including an NBA-range 3 pointer toward the end of the first half.
“The biggest thing for us is going to be not getting too high off a win,” Jones said. “Yeah we just had a great win over Ohio, but if we stoop back down we could get upset by Jacksonville.”
While the Gators displayed a balanced offensive attack with points coming from the paint and the perimeter — 11 Gators scored during the game — it was wandering hands that proved to be effective.
Experimenting with more man-to-man defense paid immediate dividends, beginning with Lonnika Thompson. Thompson spearheaded the defensive campaign with seven steals, to add to 7 points and five assists. With the loss against High Point weighing on her over Christmas break, she was determined to come out more aggressive.
“I didn’t play (against High Point) like I did tonight,” Thompson said. “I should bring that game I played tonight every game and we would beat a lot of teams.”
It was a much-needed, feel-good win for a team that lost its own tournament and dropped below .500. With conference play starting on Sunday, this was a game that Florida needed in order to put its last performance behind them.
With a 14-point first-half lead, the Gators started the second half with an 8-0 run to blow the game open. The Christmas-break layoff seemed to be a motivation rather than a distraction for Florida.
“That’s was what all of us experienced, just embarrassment. We’re the University of Florida and we lost to High Point,” Jones said. “That’s no disrespect to them, but we just know on our home floor, we shouldn’t lose to anybody.”
