Rebounds are not an issue if you are sinking threes at will. Florida showed that on Sunday against Auburn.
The Gators drained eight three-pointers against the Tigers — the most since Southeastern Conference play began — in their 87-69 victory despite being outrebounded 48-34.
Although coach Amanda Butler is insistent on prioritizing strong play in the paint over all else, one could argue the Gators are built to dominate the perimeter. They are a short team — both height-wise and depth-wise — but they happen to be chock-full of offensive firepower.
“We still want to make sure that our emphasis is from the inside out,” Butler said. “We can count on that night in, night out. We were 8 of 22, and that made a big difference because those threes all seemed to come clumped together, which allowed us to separate ourselves a little bit.
“We shot 20 threes against Tennessee, and it was probably about five too many.
“You just have to feel the game, and see what your opponent is trying to do to you and find those spots. When shooters like Lily (Svete) hit their first couple of looks, it just makes everybody else confident that the ball’s going to go in.”
Florida shot an impressive 29 of 62 from the field against Auburn, with six of the active eight players scoring in double figures. Senior Jaterra Bonds scored 18 points, going 5 for 9 from the field and 8 for 9 from the charity stripe.
Svete led the team with three shots made from distance. Her 12 points on Sunday were the most she has scored since notching 15 in Florida’s season opener against Bethune-Cookman.
“Our offense is designed to get everyone the shots that they’re supposed to get,” Svete said. “I just ended up being open and my teammates found me.”
Added Butler: “We’ve got a lot of looks for Lily built-in. “I think the thing that is hopefully going to change or expand for Lily is that she’s going to do a better job of finding those shots for herself. She knows how much confidence our staff and our team has in her. She knows where those spots are in our offense.”
“Some of the things she’s got to do a better job of is just continuing to look at transition. As she’s coming down the floor, Lily is a 100 percent-effort kid all the time. She’s also a really bright kid, but sometimes when she’s going so hard, she’s not using all that brain. I think now that she’s feeling good about how she’s shooting the ball, she’ll be more aware of where she’s at and hit certain spots.”
Another nugget from Sunday’s contest was freshman Ronni Williams’ performance. Williams went 5-for-7 shooting, scoring 10 points. Most importantly, she didn’t foul out.
Sunday’s win improved the Gators’ record to 8-1 when Williams stays in the game.
“The goal is always to keep her on the floor as much as we possibly can,” Butler said. “It’s trying to manage her minutes between learning how to play with fouls and when she just needs to come and sit for a second so we don’t put her in harm’s way, in terms of fouling. That’s a balance that the coaches are still trying to learn.”
“I think Ronni, with each one of these games and the different types of challenges these games are presenting, is just learning how to navigate the league.”
Follow Gordon Streisand on Twitter @GordonStreisand
Ronni Williams shoots the ball during Florida’s 87-69 win against Auburn on Sunday in the O’Connell Center. Williams scored 10 points against the Tigers.
