Before the Gators take the floor at Memorial Gym tonight at 7 to take on Vanderbilt, they’ll be reminded by an 8-year-old about toughness.
Catriona “Cat” Chennell was diagnosed when she was 4 with primary pulmonary hypertension — a deficiency of the heart and lungs where her heart wasn’t receiving enough oxygen. She spent 345 days at Shands Medical Center waiting for a heart and lung transplant.
On Sunday, she attended her first-ever Gators sporting event: the women’s basketball game against UGA.
With Cat in mind in every team huddle, her plea for a win didn’t fall on deaf ears as the Gators held on to beat No. 20 Georgia 64-57.
“It was a lot of fun,” Cat said. “It was really a dream come true for me.”
The Gators (14-13, 7-7 Southeastern Conference) will look to answer Cat’s call again when they face off against the Commodores in Nashville.
Jence Rhoads led VU (19-8, 8-6 SEC) with 14 points in a 66-58 win at the O’Connell Center on Feb. 4.
“They whooped our butt on our home court,” UF guard Jordan Jones said. “We got revenge on UGA, and now it’s time to get it for Vandy, too.”
The Commodores don’t necessarily boast size, like Tennessee and Georgia have, but they rely on tenacity and their ability to shoot the ball.
“They’re not very big, so it’ll be a battle of the less-than-six-foot kids on Wednesday,” UF coach Amanda Butler said.
Vanderbilt ranks 15th in the country in field goal percentage (48.5) and leads the SEC from three-point range in league play.
Last time out against VU, the Gators were effective scoring in the paint (32 points), but never got their outside shots going — a 23-percent clip from beyond the arc. If UF hopes to keep any glimmer of a tournament bid alive, a win in Nashville is crucial.
“We have a team with five seniors on it, so are they aware that there are implications for every win and loss? Absolutely,” Butler said. “It’s not something we as a coaching staff have to talk about that much.”
While Butler may not be stressing the chances of making the tournament with her team, it’s clear she thought the team needed a spark. It was Butler who introduced Cat to the team.
The two parties have become so close in the past few days, Cat and her father, Justin, made the trip to the airport to see the team off to play Vanderbilt tonight.
“I don’t know if we win against UGA if we don’t have Cat there for our inspiration,” Jones said. “She’s our new little good luck charm, so we’re going to keep in close contact.”
