Jordan Jones has finally returned to form.
After shooting just 25.7 percent from beyond the arc in her last seven games, Jones made 6 of 12 from three in the Gators’ final home game of the regular season.
Jones’ 50-percent clip is her best mark with three or more attempts since a 57.1-percent outing in a 58-53 road win against Ole Miss on Jan. 5.
“If I had to pick a time (to break out of my shooting slump), it would be now,” Jones said.
The redshirt senior guard used her long-range success to score a game-high 18 points, boosting Florida (18-10, 8-7 Southeastern Conference) past Mississippi State (14-14, 4-11 SEC) 79-45 Thursday night in the O’Connell Center.
Jones’ scoring effort paced the UF offense, which had three players score in double digits.
Azania Stewart tallied 13 points while Jennifer George scored 12, helping the Gators outscore the Bulldogs 34-20 in the paint.
Florida also held a 51-29 rebounding advantage thanks to a game-high 11 boards from Stewart, nine from Ndidi Madu and eight from George.
Stewart’s 13-point, 11-rebound effort marked her second double-double of the season.
“(I was) just trying to help George [Thursday],” Stewart said. “George is doing such a great job drawing such good defense, so I really just tried to help her.”
The Gators committed 17 turnovers compared to 21 by the Bulldogs, but what each squad did with each other’s giveaways proved to be the difference.
Florida scored 28 points off turnovers compared to just eight by Mississippi State.
“We needed to lock them up and keep them from getting out of the gates early,” coach Amanda Butler said. “I don’t think we came out and scored right away, but we came right out and disrupted.”
UF’s win against MSU was its 18th, the highest regular-season total since the 23 games won by the 2008-09 team that advanced to the NCAA Tournament.
Jones believes this season’s squad has done enough to advance to The Big Dance with an at-large bid should the Gators fall short in next weekend’s SEC Tournament.
“Obviously, there’s still work to do and there’s still chances to get work done,” Jones said. “If I’m another team, Florida is not a team I would want to play. I think we’re a scary team with how good we can be and how we’ve shown we can be.”
The Gators went into Thursday’s game ranked No. 33 in RPI and No. 12 in strength of schedule.
Florida’s next opportunity to boost its NCAA Tournament resume will come against No. 10 Tennessee in Knoxville, Tenn., on Sunday.
The Gators have beaten the Volunteers on the road just once, a 95-93 overtime win on Feb. 26, 2006 — exactly six years prior to this season’s matchup. Butler is 1-8 against Tennessee, and UF is 3-43 all-time against UT.
“If it’s an at-large selection, there’s no question in my mind that we should be there,” Butler said. “There’s still opportunities and there’s still games to play, and that’s what we have got to be focused on.”
Contact Joe Morgan at joemorgan@alligator.org.
Florida senior guard Jordan Jones scored 18 points on 6-of-12 shooting from three in Thursday’s 79-45 win against Mississippi State
