They had been waiting for this moment for 10 days.
After an upset loss to Hampton on Dec. 10, the Gators faced a strenuous week filled with final exams and grueling practices.
Coach Amanda Butler admittedly turned up the wick after the disappointing loss, and it appeared the team suffered a blow when junior captain Jordan Jones went down with a concussion.
Cue the emergence of Brittany Shine.
In her first career start, Shine’s dominant performance led the Gators (9-3) to an impressive 95-38 win over visiting Alabama State (2-7) in Monday’s opening-round game of the Gator Holiday Classic.
“It’s just a matter of putting in extra work – going to the gym late at night and shooting, shooting, shooting,” Shine said. “Every day in practice, coach Butler is on us, telling us to go hard, even when we thought we were going hard. That kept us going.”
Shine finished with 28 points on 11-of-23 shooting, including 4 of 9 from beyond the arc, while also dishing a career-high six assists.
The Gators came out fast with a 9-0 run to start the game and entered halftime with a 22-point cushion. Florida’s defense forced 18 Alabama State turnovers in the first 20 minutes and held the Hornets to just 21 points on 30.8 percent shooting.
In contrast, the Gators shot 46.3 percent en route to their highest first-half total of the season with 53.
But instead of relaxing with a large lead, Florida brought the same energy to the second half, something Butler insisted over the break.
“We set some halftime goals,” Butler said. “We really put our foot down and showed that this is what we’re supposed to do in these moments – we’re supposed to separate ourselves right now.”
One of the goals Butler set was to hold the Hornets under 20 points in the second half. The Gators did just that. They held ASU to 17 second-half points while pouring in 42 more of their own for a final margin of 47 points.
In a game dominated offensively by Florida’s guards, forward Jennifer George made her presence felt on the defensive end. The junior blocked a career-high nine shots, and became only the second player in school history to block nine or more shots in a single game.
Apart from Shine, three more Gators scored in double figures. Guards Deana Allen and Jaterra Bonds both finished with 13 points and combined for 12 assists. Freshman Lanita Bartley matched her career-high with 12 points while also netting a career-high five steals and three assists.
“To come off the heels of that week, which was really physically and mentally challenging, and to have a performance like this is what we worked for,” Butler said. “This is the way the team deserved to win.”
Florida is back on the O’Connell Center court today at 4:30 p.m. against Robert Morris in the final game of the Gator Holiday Classic.
