With a mighty No. 17 Texas A&M squad looming on the horizon, Florida needed a win at Vanderbilt to have a better chance of earning a ticket to the NCAA tournament.
In a tight 73-68 victory in Nashville, Tenn., the Gators’ wish was granted.
“If you would have told me that we would’ve gotten a lead and kept it the whole game,” coach Amanda Butler said, “and played with the level of composure in the face of the runs and some of the things that didn’t go your way — Kayla (Lewis)’s fouls, that sort of thing — I’d say, ‘Wow, that sounds great! But that sounds a little improbable.’”
In the first half, the Gators exploded offensively.
About 10 minutes in, Florida jumped out to a 23-6 lead.
Led by senior Jaterra Bonds’ 11 points and six assists, Florida shot 56.3 percent from the field and took a 12-point lead into halftime.
“I felt like our post players really sustained us in the first half,” Butler said. “Jaterra drew a lot of attention.”
In somewhat of a rare sight, the Gators were not only leading in the paint, but dominating it, outscoring Vanderbilt 26-8 in that domain.
“It’s always an emphasis for us,” Butler said. “Rarely do we match up evenly, size-wise, with people inside. We try to generate those touches by drives and some good interior passing. I thought we were able to have great low-block presence tonight with Kayla and Ronni (Williams) that made some huge plays on the backside.”
Vanderbilt senior Christina Foggie kept the Commodores in striking distance throughout the first half, scoring 17 points thanks to a 4 for 6 effort from three-point range.
With the score 42-30 entering the second half, the Gators began to wane.
After shooting 18 for 32 in the first half, Florida went 1 for 13 to start the second half, and Vanderbilt narrowed the gap to four points in that span.
But a big three pointer from sophomore January Miller ended the drought. An ensuing layup from Bonds put the Gators up by nine, 52-43.
The Commodores then stormed back to get within three, but another clutch three — this time from senior Lily Svete — put the Gators up by six with a hair over seven minutes remaining.
But, as the previous course of the game had dictated, Vanderbilt again pulled to within three with four minutes remaining.
Florida again followed with another crucial three-pointer from redshirt sophomore Cassie Peoples.
The Commodores were again within three points with under a minute left, but critical free throws from Peoples and fellow redshirt sophomore Carlie Needles sealed the deal for Florida.
“Carlie’s just one of those players that wants to be in the game at that moment and hopes she’s the one who gets fouled,” Butler said.
With the win, the Gators sealed their fate to finish at least .500 in conference play and in the top half of the SEC.
“Monumental task in trying to match up with Texas A&M on Sunday,” Butler said, “but thank goodness this team embraces monumental challenges.”
Follow Gordon Streisand on Twitter @GordonStreisand
Amanda Butler calls a play during Florida’s 68-62 loss against Georgia on Jan. 19 in the O’Connell Center.
