It’s not the NCAA Tournament, but the Women’s National Invitation Tournament will at least offer the Gators a shot at redemption tonight at 7.
UF (14-16, 7-9 Southeastern Conference) hosts in-state rival and defending WNIT champion USF (15-15, 6-10 Big East Conference) in the first-round, earning home-court advantage by virtue of having a higher seed within its conference than any other team left out of the Big Dance.
That means one more chance in the O’Connell Center for the five UF seniors who lost to Alabama on Senior Day. But the time off has given the whole team chance to mull over how the season ended.
“You want to feel differently than you did the last time you were on the court,” UF coach Amanda Butler said. “I think that’s still fresh in their mind at this point. We would love to be in that NCAA field.”
Instead, the Gators are in the WNIT bracket but should feel more confident. In the two weeks since their last game, center Azania Stewart — who missed five games late in the regular season — to continue to recover, and Butler said she expects Stewart to play.
Home-court advantage coupled with Stewart’s improved health are factors contributing to the team’s appreciation for another game.
“I’m glad we can just play again at home,” senior Sharielle Smith said. “Me being a senior too, it’s horrible losing at home, your last game at home — or thinking it was your last game.
This is just another championship opportunity, of course we would love to be in the NCAA tournament. We weren’t able to, so now we have to go from where we are and try and end the season as best as we can.”
