Returning to Gainesville after two road games in California, Sacramento native Brittany Shine was right at home.
Shine scored a season-high 14 points in Florida's 83-59 win against Charleston Southern in the second game of the Gator Holiday Classic in the O'Connell Center on Tuesday.
"Shine just hit open shots and that seems like an easy thing to do, but it's not always easy," coach Amanda Butler said.
"When you're sitting there wide open, a lot of times, there's even more pressure."
Shine contributed to an offensive outburst from the UF bench, which scored 30 combined points on the night.
The Gators' reserves dominated their Buccaneer counterparts, which managed just four points.
Florida (8-3) shot 51.7 percent from the field and recorded 22 assists in the victory over Charleston Southern (6-4).
Largely responsible for those numbers was junior forward Jennifer George, who scored 19 points on the night on 9-of-10 shooting.
George also grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds, recording her fifth double-double of the 2011-12 campaign.
"After shoot around today, I asked her was she ready to play and was she going to get us out of the gates quickly and she said, 'Yes, I will. You can rely on me,'" Butler said.
"She delivered and I think that's just a huge step for George in her maturity is becoming really a big-time player and understanding how important she is."
Spearheading the offensive effort was senior guard Jordan Jones, who led the Gators with 20 points and added three assists.
Sophomore guard Jaterra Bonds added a team-high nine dimes against the Bucs.
While offense was aplenty for Florida, defense helped keep Charleston Southern at bay.
UF grabbed a 29-18 rebounding advantage on the defensive glass and had 13 steals.
"We were doing a pretty good job of not giving them second chances," Butler said. "When you only give a good team one shot — and that's a contested shot — you're doing what you're supposed to do on the other end and things are going to go your way."
The biggest players on defense were senior center Azania Stewart and George, who blocked five and three shots, respectively.
The Buccaneers kept the contest close throughout the first half and trailed by just eight points at halftime.
However, after Charleston Southern pulled within four points of the lead at 50-46 with 15:42 remaining, Florida came alive.
The Gators held the Bucs scoreless for over nine minutes, opening up a 20-point lead during that span.
"We talked a lot at halftime about our defense and being really disappointed in the way we were giving up points," Butler said. "We just became a little more determined."
A radio broadcast contributed to this report.
