Two very different Gators teams took the floor last week.
Florida traveled to face Virginia Tech on Thursday intent on outrebounding the Hokies.
UF secured more boards than Virginia Tech but ultimately lost due to a poor offensive showing in the first half, shooting 4 of 24 prior to halftime.
“We were really concerned with the way they were capable of rebounding the basketball,” coach Amanda Butler said.
“We went out and outrebounded them, but there were other areas of our game that weren’t quite as tight as they needed to be.”
Through the first two games of the season, Florida showed great balance. However, both games were at home, and both opponents were considered less than formidable.
The Gators failed their first road test, losing 71-59.
Three days later, Florida trounced Kennesaw State 83-62 on the road. But the Gators still managed to get outrebounded 41-29 by a much smaller Owls team.
Florida may have a well-balanced team, but it does not play like one on a nightly basis.
Consistency is a constant battle for any coach to get out of their team, especially for Butler.
“That’s been our struggle,” Butler said.
“If we spend a lot of time on one thing, we do a great job of handling that, but then there’s another area that lets down. We’ve got to get better across the board at having a high level of play and a high level of consistency from game to game and even from half to half.”
Another undesirable UF theme has been foul trouble, most notably from freshman Ronni Williams. The forward has fouled out in three consecutive games.
Due to an already shallow bench, any foul trouble is magnified due to the small number of replacements.
“There’s a change in women’s basketball this year for everyone,” Butler said.
“If you watch any game, there are probably double the fouls that have been called in the past. That’s an adjustment for everyone.
“When you take that, compounded by being a freshman and making the college adjustment, it’s kind of like a double whammy — I think for all the freshmen right now in the country. Especially players like Ronni, who are aggressive, who are capable shot-blockers, who are going to be playing a lot of minutes.”
Williams has been racking up fouls, but the onus is on the coaches to make in-game adjustments. Despite her foul trouble, Williams is averaging 10 points and 7.8 rebounds per game.
“Some of it, quite honestly, is just going to happen because of the way the game’s being called this year,” Butler said.
“We’ve got to be smart as coaches in getting the kids off the floor and getting them to adjust to the way the crew is calling the game. (We will) help them make adjustments that maybe they aren’t able to recognize on their own quite yet.”
Follow Gordon Streisand on Twitter @GordonStreisand.
Ronni Williams attempts a shot during Florida’s 88-77 win against North Florida on Nov. 10 in the O’Connell Center. Williams scored 19 points and grabbed 10 rebounds against No. 6 Kentucky on Sunday.
