It’s a well-known fact that Vanderbilt’s Memorial Gym is a difficult place to play. Just ask the Florida women’s basketball team.
The Gators haven’t won in Nashville, Tenn., since 2004 and have only three wins there since 1986. No current player on UF’s roster has experienced a victory in the Music City.
Florida coach Amanda Butler never won there as a player, and she has yet to do so as a coach, either.
But that can all change tonight at 9 when Florida (15-13, 5-9 Southeastern Conference) plays Vanderbilt (18-9, 9-5 SEC) in Memorial Gym.
Guard Jordan Jones said the team got together for dinner Monday night to discuss the importance of tonight’s matchup and the difficulties the Commodores’ coliseum can pose.
“We have to grow up,” Jones said. “We’ve played in tough environments, and Vandy always has a great crowd.”
The Commodores average 4,600 fans per game, nearly triple the amount of a home crowd in the O’Connell Center.
During practice before a road trip to play Tennessee, the coaching staff piped in crowd noise through speakers to acclimate the players to the distraction.
But Jones said the makeup of Memorial, with its hanging baskets and raised floor, requires some different preparation.
“It’s just going to be a weird environment,” Jones said Tuesday. “I think (the coaches) will change some things up in practice to get us ready for that.”
Butler likes to run set plays on offense and switch things up sporadically on defense, but because the benches are sunken and on the baseline at Memorial Gym, that will be all the more difficult.
“If the point guard wants to get a play in the first half, they would have to turn completely around,” Jones said.
So, Jones said, the players must be able to talk among themselves about what they see during the game.
Butler has coached from the baseline in practice to try to ready her squad, but once the game begins, she said, it’s going to be up to the players to get it done.
“You’ve really got to rely on your point guard play to direct your team,” Butler said. “We’re going to spend time in practice … trying to let the team run themselves because they’re not going to be able to rely on the coach’s voice.”
Communication will be paramount tonight, and Butler said she is confident in her team after Sunday’s win over Mississippi State.
Point guard Lanita Bartley led the team with 23 points and five assists, showing a desire to put the team on her back.
The Gators need this win to bolster their postseason résumé and are facing the Commodores at a great time to pull off the upset.
After opening 12-0 at home, Vanderbilt has dropped its last two in Memorial Gym. A win tonight, and a win at home Sunday against Georgia, could do wonders for the Gators. But Butler said she is focused only on the task at hand.
“One thing at a time,” Butler said. “Go up to Nashville and do something special.”
