ATHENS, Ga. — A constant point of emphasis for the Florida women’s basketball team is setting the tone early in games.
Coach Amanda Butler believes execution in the first four minutes is integral to success.
But it has been the opposite — the crunch-time minutes with the game on the line — that has led to multiple late-game collapses for the Gators.
Most recently, UF (12-7, 2-3 Southeastern Conference) allowed a 16-point lead to evaporate in the final nine minutes against Georgia, dropping their second straight SEC game, and third in the last four, 70-64 in Athens, Ga., on Sunday.
A feisty crowd got into the game as Georgia made its surge, but Butler said she couldn’t attribute the loss to the anxiety Florida’s young roster might have felt in a hostile environment.
“Composure and decision-making under pressure — I don’t know that that’s nerves, or if that’s a lack of experience, or if that Georgia is really good and they didn’t play really good until the end. I think it’s probably a combination of all those things,” Butler said. “It’s something that we’ve got to be better at.”
Butler is right, because Florida’s struggles at the end of games are becoming a trend.
UF held a 66-59 lead late against DePaul on Nov. 18 but was able to score just eight points over the final 8:27 and eventually lost 74-73 after a last-second tip-in from Kayla Lewis was waved off.
Three weeks later, Florida squandered a five-point halftime lead and was outscored by 20 in the second half in a 69-54 loss to Hampton University. Then, searching for their first true road win of the season against Auburn on Jan. 6, the Gators allowed a 22-9 Tigers run in the final 6:43 that again erased a five-point halftime lead.
While the losses are troubling, captain Jordan Jones isn’t focused on the past. Instead, Jones is choosing to turn her attention to the team’s next challenge.
“We have a tough team coming into the O’Dome on Thursday,” Jones said of No. 19 Kentucky. “It’s going to be a test for us to bounce back, to come to work on Tuesday and get this right.”
The Wildcats (13-4, 2-2 SEC) have won two straight conference games after a three-game skid, and they possess the talent to extend Florida’s losing streak to three games.
“[The loss against Georgia] is a heartbreaker,” Jones said. “But you find out how good you are and how mature you are … in how you bounce back.”
