Coach Amanda Butler is tired of the slow starts that have plagued the Gators this season.
And after Florida (5-3) again came out flat and careless with the ball against Florida State on Sunday, Butler could do nothing but emphasize the need to correct the team’s inability to keep up with its opponent early.
"Unfortunately, it’s not a new story," Butler said. "We turned the ball over a lot. We started slow."
Two rival athletic departments continued to head in opposite directions on Sunday afternoon as FSU (8-1) essentially put away the UF women’s basketball team in the opening minutes, jumping out to an early 16-2 lead and never looking back.
The Seminoles were seemingly never challenged, cruising to a 77-51 victory over the Gators in Tallahassee.
The Gators committed a season-high 30 turnovers.
Florida, coming off an upset loss against Savannah State that saw the team turn the ball over 25 times, was unable to get into an offensive rhythm and shot the ball poorly from the field.
"We’re not being pressed, we’re just not valuing the ball or executing with composure," Butler said. "We’re just doing a lot of things wrong."
After switching to a zone defense, the Gators forced several turnovers and cut the lead to seven on a Brooke Copeland three-pointer, but it was the closest Florida would get for the rest of the game.
The Seminoles went into halftime up 16 points, and Florida didn’t get within single digits the rest of the game.
With no Gators scoring in double digits, Copeland led the Florida scoring with nine points, but fouled out 11 minutes into the second half after playing just 11 minutes.
January Miller also provided nine points, while freshman Haley Lorenzen added eight points and five rebounds.
"Brooke gave us a lot of energy," Butler said, "It was unfortunate that she fouled out."
"Haley got a lot of good looks down low. We just need to capitalize on those opportunities."
Despite the loss, Florida has been encouraged by the play of its freshmen — Copeland, Lorenzen and Dyandria Anderson.
Redshirt junior Carlie Needles had her third straight tough game, scoring just four points in 36 minutes and turning the ball over five times while not providing an assist.
Needles and fellow starting guard Cassie Peoples were locked down the entire night by the Seminoles defense, which forced the duo into multiple turnovers that contributed to the early insurmountable deficit.
Follow Graham Hall on Twitter @Graham311
January Miller drives the ball to the net during Florida’s 87-69 win against Auburn on Jan. 26 in the O’Connell Center. Miller scored only five points while turning the ball over three times in UF’s loss to UGA on Sunday.
