All season, coach Amanda Butler has praised her team for responding to the challenges posed to it.
After dropping back-to-back games by a combined 79 points to ranked conference opponents LSU and Tennessee, Florida (13-12, 6-6 Southeastern Conference) will face the challenge of keeping alive pencil-thin hopes for an NCAA Tournament bid.
Butler’s squad will get a chance to respond tonight, as the Gators travel to Lexington, Ky., to take on the No. 16-ranked Wildcats.
While Kentucky (21-4, 9-3 Southeastern Conference) doesn't have the size advantage the Volunteers did on Sunday, UK is still a team to be reckoned with, sitting in second place in the SEC.
Things won’t be easier with the absence of sophomore center Azania Stewart, who has a stress fracture in her left foot and did not play at Tennessee. Her status is game-to-game, but she said she hoped to be back in time for the SEC Tournament, which starts March 4.
“It’s a sucky time for it to come because it is right in the important part of the season,” Stewart said. “Sitting is the worst thing ever — going from starting to sitting on the end. I did the hard work and fought through the beginning, and now it’s for nothing really.”
Unable to contribute on the floor, Stewart has been busy in other ways. She spoke to the post players after the Tennessee game, a job normally reserved for assistant coach Susie Gardner.
She has also taken teammate Jennifer George under her wing. The 6-foot freshman started in Stewart’s place against the Vols and collected nine rebounds in a career-high 32 minutes of action.
“She’s like my little, mini Z,” Stewart said.
While George may not have Stewart’s height, the difference won't be quite as noticeable against the smaller Wildcats.
“When we line up for the jump ball, it’s going to be a lot more comforting to see them side by side,” Gardner said.
The undersized Gators had matchup problems with the Vols’ Kelley Cain and Alyssia Brewer, who combined for 11 blocks.
Gardner said the team would try to double down bigger post players with Sharielle Smith and Ndidi Madu, and it was a focal point to get the opposing team’s players — like UK 6-foot-1 forward Victoria Dunlap — in foul trouble.
The Gators didn’t even attempt a free throw against the Vols.
Kentucky, a smaller, more athletic team, does have Dunlap in the post. She is the fourth-leading scorer in the SEC (17.7) on a team that wins games by an average of 18.9 points. She is equally effective in the paint, collecting 8.7 boards per contest.
While the Gators had effectively shut down good scorers earlier in conference play, Alisson Hightower (LSU) and Angie Bjorklund (UT) combined for 43 points, exposing flaws in Florida’s defense.
“We need to come out with a little anger, maybe vengeance, against Kentucky,” George said.
