It was a tale of two victories.
Although Florida won both of its games this weekend in the O’Connell Center, there was a difference between the opening game against Bethune-Cookman and Sunday’s game against North Florida.
On Friday, the Gators flexed their muscle on both ends of the floor in a convincing 93-65 win against Bethune-Cookman. The Gators outrebounded the Wildcats 41-34, with 17 rebounds coming from freshman Ronni Williams, who broke the program record for rebounds in a debut.
“I was just excited to be out there,” Williams said. “I thought I did pretty good. Grabbed rebounds, scored … but mainly, grabbed rebounds.”
With sophomore forward Christin Mercer sidelined with an ankle injury, UF had only eight players dressed for both games.
The Gators easily overcame the loss, as five players scored in double digits against UNF and seven scored in double figures against Bethune-Cookman.
“Fantastic team effort,” coach Amanda Butler said after the game against Bethune-Cookman. “You always feel good as a team when you feel like everyone contributed big minutes, big plays, knocking down free throws … those sort of things that we know are going to be so crucial for us.”
Sunday, Florida seemingly picked up where it left off.
The Gators opened the game against the Ospreys with a 10-0 run. Senior Lily Svete made her first four shots from behind the arc, and Florida was up 17 points in fewer than eight minutes into the game.
However, Florida’s defense was porous and allowed UNF to pull within three early in the second half.
“I thought (UNF) challenged us in the paint a lot differently than we were challenged on Friday night,” Butler said. “Frankly, we didn’t handle it very well. To be out-rebounded on your home floor is something that’s definitely caught our attention. Unfortunately, the noticeable differences (in our gameplay) were probably in the negative column.
“Consistently, we just didn’t play the defensive game we needed to. There were too many spikes, too much up and down. You saw some great plays with turnovers, but there wasn’t a consistent level of defensive pride in the way that we played.”
Florida was outrebounded 43-30 by a UNF team that lost by 40 points to Miami two days earlier.
The stark contrast in rebounding can be attributed to Williams’ absence. The freshman got into foul trouble against UNF. Compared to Friday’s game, during which she posted 15 points, 17 rebounds and five blocks in 29 minutes, Williams put up only four points, five rebounds and three blocks in 17 minutes before fouling out late in the game on Sunday.
Fortunately for Florida, junior Kayla Lewis rose to the occasion, recording nine rebounds and five steals while also chipping in 16 points in the 88-77 win.
“I think everybody can contribute,” Lewis said. “It’s going to be game by game, not saying that you’re going to play bad one game and then not the next. The opportunity was there.”
Butler is pleased with the balance her team has shown to start the season. However, the Gators still have plenty of room for improvement.
“The bright side is feeling like you played really, really poorly and still being able to win,” she said. “Overall, we’ve got a lot of work to do.”
Follow Gordon Streisand on Twitter @GordonStreisand.
Ronni Williams posts up during Florida’s win against North Florida on Sunday in the O’Connell Center.
