Ndidi Madu clenched her fists and screamed as she headed to the charity stripe.
The redshirt senior forward’s three-point play put the finishing touch on a 10-0 Gators run in the first three minutes of the second half.
“We just came out with energy and intensity,” Madu said. “We just can’t get comfortable. We’ve got to keep wanting more.”
UF’s post-halftime offensive onslaught buried Auburn (11-14, 3-9 Southeastern Conference) in a 70-56 Florida (16-8, 6-5) victory Thursday night in the O’Connell Center.
The Tigers were much more competitive in the first half, besting the Gators in field goal percentage, 3-point percentage and rebounding.
However, Florida employed the full-court press to great effect against Auburn.
The Gators forced 13 Tigers turnovers in the game’s first 20 minutes, scoring 15 points off those giveaways en route to a 36-31 halftime lead.
Auburn’s struggles taking care of the ball continued into the second half and proved to be too much to overcome.
Auburn had 22 giveaways, leading to 26 Florida points.
“It’s just so rewarding to see a (statistical) column like that have a big number in it,” coach Amanda Butler said. “Even when things don’t go our way, effort is always at the top of our list.”
Lanita Bartley led the Gators with 17 points, marking her fourth consecutive game with double-digit scoring.
Deana Allen and Jaterra Bonds ranked right behind Bartley scoring-wise, putting up 14 and 12 points, respectively.
All but one player scored for UF, which nearly had everyone on the active roster score for a third consecutive game.
“We all know each other so well in league play,” Butler said. “It just makes it harder to scout Florida if you’re not sure who you’ve really got to clue in on.”
The Gators won their third straight game by defeating the Tigers, notching their second consecutive victory by double digits.
Florida has not racked up three wins in a row since downing Charleston Southern, Duquesne and Samford in late December.
“Our seniors are doing a great job of leading and showing how important each one of those moments are,” Butler said. “Winning the three games in a row is because we’ve been preparing with a sense of urgency, not just playing with a sense of urgency.”
Thursday’s game marked the sixth conference win for the Gators, putting them above .500 in SEC play for the first time this season.
Florida is now four games behind Kentucky in the league standings with five contests left to play.
“It’s February, this is where you have to buckle down and everybody’s stepping up their game individually and also collectively as a team,” Allen said. “With all of us being confident, that works in our favor.”
Contact Joe Morgan at joemorgan@alligator.org.
Florida point guard Lanita Bartley (left) scored a team-high 17 points in Thursday’s 70-56 win against Auburn in the O’Connell Center.
