Redshirt freshman Carlie Needles was lights out against North Florida on Nov. 19, breaking Florida’s program record with nine three-pointers in a 74-44 victory.
But in Southeastern Conference play, Needles and the Gators have fallen on dark times shooting the ball.
During UF’s current four-game losing streak — a slide that has dropped Florida into a tie for eighth in the SEC — Needles has shot just 25 percent from the floor, while making only 6 of 25 attempts from behind the arc.
“Sometimes you just have those games,” Needles said. “You have those games where stuff isn’t falling.”
The Gators’ shortcomings from behind the arc have been an issue throughout conference play. Only South Carolina shoots at a lower percentage on three-pointers than Florida.
UF has made just 22 of 87 attempts or 25.3 percent of its tries, a number emblematic of its offensive struggles as a whole.
Though the Gators are a respectable seventh in the conference in scoring — averaging 65.6 points per game — coach Amanda Butler has recently grown frustrated with her team’s offensive struggles.
Florida’s offensive woes worsened during Sunday’s 69-52 loss to Georgia in Athens, Ga.
For the first time in more than two years, no Gator scored in double figures. The last such occurrence came in an 83-40 loss to Tennessee on Jan. 13, 2011.
“We’re a little out of sync right now,” Butler said. “It’s a combination of things.”
Butler was correct in choosing to not solely focus on one area of offensive struggles. Against the Bulldogs, the Gators were deficient in nearly every aspect.
Florida shot just 5 of 14 from the free-throw line and 3 of 16 from behind the arc.
Butler described the failures from the foul line as ridiculous. Concerning three-point shooting, she explained her team must use better discernment moving forward.
“We’re shooting the ball pretty pathetically from the three, so we need to take less threes,” Butler said. “It’s pretty simple. We’ve got to be disciplined enough to turn down some of those open looks.”
Contact Phillip Heilman at pheilman@alligator.org
Guard Carlie Needles (left) passes the ball to forward Jennifer George (middle) during Florida’s 88-81 loss to Ole Miss on Jan. 24 at home.
