Heading into its game against Longwood on Monday, Florida coach Amanda Butler emphasized the importance of locking down on defense and forcing turnovers to create opportunities for its offense.
The Gators (2-0) did just that, forcing Longwood (0-2) into 27 turnovers and stealing the ball 20 times on the way to a confidence-boosting 91-46 win at home.
"We wanted to go out and be aggressive, attack and have a much more consistent defensive effort, and I think we did that," Butler said. "Any time you can hold a team in the 40’s, that’s significant."
Sophomore Ronni Williams didn’t miss a shot the entire game, going a perfect 8-for-8 from the field and converting all three of her free throw attempts to give her 19 points for the game.
Facing an undersized Longwood team, Williams scored all of her points in the paint, often using her large frame to dominate the Lancers down low.
"With our guards throwing it to me….they threw perfect passes," Williams said. "I was just able to catch it and finish."
The Gators also received efficient play from its shooters, with redshirt junior Carlie Needles contributing 15 points, nine of which came from behind the arc.
A testament to her defensive positioning, Needles led the Gators in rebounding, adding eight boards in an impressive all-around performance.
With the game close at 29-19 with 5:27 remaining in the first half, Florida essentially put the game away on a 14-0 run to close the half.
The lead would continue to burgeon, with the Gators digging deep into its bench to close out the Lancers.
Junior Carla Batchelor, playing her first game for Florida after transferring in the offseason, scored 10 points on 4-for-4 shooting in just five minutes of action.
It was an impressive performance that highlighted Butler’s insistence on receiving quality bench production — even if the team didn’t need it.
The Gators shot the ball well from the free-throw line, going 17-20 from the charity stripe.
With the team moving the ball well in the post, the Gators were able to exploit a small Longwood team, getting 54 points in the paint.
While the Gators gave up 12 offensive rebounds to the Lancers, Butler emphasized the offensive rebounding differential was due to the uncharacteristically-high amount of shots Longwood took from behind the three-point line.
Considering the emphasis the team places on rebounding the ball, Butler was pleased with the mental corrections the team made following its win over Jacksonville on Friday.
"There’s not anything physically or from a strategy-standpoint that we changed, it was just a mental adjustment on an individual level," Butler said.
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Carlie Needles drives into the paint during Florida's win against Longwood.
