In the spirit of the holiday season, Belmont was in a giving mood against Florida.
The Gators used a full-court press to force 29 Bruins turnovers in a 72-45 win Tuesday night in the O’Connell Center.
UF’s press led to 16 fastbreak points and 44 points off turnovers — more than half of its total points.
Coach Amanda Butler was pleased with her guards’ efforts taking Belmont’s guards “out their comfort zone.”
“One thing we ask them to do in every ball game and on every possession is to set the tone with their defense and their ball pressure,” Butler said.
Senior guard Lanita Bartley was perhaps the greatest beneficiary of Belmont’s mistakes, recording 12 points, four steals and three assists.
Bartley’s performance comes on the heels of a 44-point offensive outburst in last weekend’s wins against La Salle and Charlotte.
“‘Nita takes great pride in turning over ball handlers and getting the ball back,” Butler said.
Junior forward Jennifer George led UF with 15 points and six rebounds and recorded three steals. Since attempting just one shot in the season opener against Michigan, George has scored in double figures in every game except her nine-point effort against Charlotte on Saturday.
“It’s just the mentality of my junior year,” George said. “I have to step it up every game.”
Belmont took more shots and recorded more turnovers than it scored points in a nightmarish first half.
The Bruins were 7 of 21 from the field and had 22 giveaways as they went into locker room trailing the Gators 46-19.
Meanwhile, Florida had its best first-half offensive performance of the season, hitting 19 of 35 attempts.
Eight different UF players scored in the first half and nine players ended the night with points on the board.
“Freshness is something we’re always trying to achieve,” Butler said, “so we can maintain that defensive pressure.”
Belmont kept it tight through the first five minutes, scoring the game’s first points.
With 14:21 remaining in the first half, the Bruins pulled within four points of the lead at 14-10 before the Gators called a timeout.
Then, Florida buried Belmont, going on an 18-2 run during the next 6:32 to take a 32-12 lead.
“The last thing I said to the team collectively before they hit the floor was, ‘Let’s show this team how much we respect them by how hard we’re going to play,’” Butler said.
“We talk every day about defense and that being our starting point and that run was really triggered by playing great defense and then getting easy shots going the other way.”
Every player on UF’s active roster had at least 13 minutes of playing time except sophomore forward Kayla Lewis, who missed the game with a stress fracture in her hip.
Butler said that the team is taking a “wait-and-see” approach to Lewis’ injury.
Forward Jennifer George (right) led the Gators with 15 points in Tuesday’s win.
