For nearly half of the Gators’ roster, Sunday’s matchup against nationally ranked Arkansas was their first taste of Southeastern Conference basketball.
So far, so good.
The Gators (11-4, 1-0 SEC) used stingy defense and a balanced scoring effort, led by Deana Allen’s 12 points off the bench, to secure a 64-53 victory over previously undefeated No. 22 Arkansas (12-1, 0-1 SEC) on Sunday in the O’Connell Center.
For the 13th time this season, the Gators outrebounded their opponent (45-38), and Arkansas coach Tom Collen lauded Florida’s efforts afterward.
“We felt all along that the difference in the game would be whether we could keep them off the boards,” Collen said. “Give Florida credit. You look back at the games that they’ve played, and they have lost to two top-25 teams by two points. If they beat those teams — and both of those games were on those teams’ home courts — they are ranked 20th in the country.
“So, I think this is a pretty good basketball team that we got beat by today.”
While rebounding was paramount, Florida’s defense may have been the real catalyst to victory.
The Gators forced 15 turnovers, grabbed nine steals and held the Razorbacks to a season-low 31.7 shooting percentage. Arkansas missed its first four shots from the field, helping Florida jump out to an early 8-2 lead.
“We were really trying to set the tone coming out of the gate, and we did a really good job of that in the first half,” coach Amanda Butler said.
The Gators entered the break up 38-22, but Arkansas began to claw its way back into the game in the second half.
Twice the Razorbacks cut the deficit to single digits with less than five minutes remaining and tried to press the Gators into mistakes.
But Florida was able to hold on despite shaky shooting at the free-throw line.
“I’m especially proud of the defensive effort, because there is no question that that is what sustained it,” Butler said. “We had some blips with some missed layups, some missed free throws and some key offensive plays, but our defense sustained us during those times.
“This win was really important for our confidence, but also we wanted to send that message that this is a tough place to play.”
Winning at home hasn’t been a problem. The Gators are 8-0 in the comfort of the O’Connell Center, but now must go on the road to face Auburn and try to secure their first true road win of the season.
In Auburn’s last game, senior forward Jordan Greenleaf led the team with 19 points and helped the Tigers (8-6) go on the road and earn a 66-55 win against a talented Crimson Tide squad.
Now, the Gators are faced with a similar challenge.
“I’m just excited, I’m ready for the next game, Auburn,” junior guard Lanita Hartley said following Monday’s victory over Arkansas. “We need to go out and get a road win because we haven’t gotten one yet, so I’m just determined to help my team win.”
