Splitting games over the Thanksgiving break may not have been the ideal way to ring in the holiday for Florida, but there’s little time to dwell on the past weekend with Florida A&M (3-2) coming to town at 4:30 this afternoon.
Florida managed a 71-60 win over FIU on Sunday to salvage its FIU Thanksgiving Classic experience after losing 61-47 to St. John’s on Friday , but UF (3-3) is looking for some consistency in its play.
The Gators, who won 15 in a row last season, have not won consecutive games this year.
“The consistency factor is obviously what we’re struggling with quite a bit,” coach Amanda Butler said. “This game, hopefully we’ll see some more positive things develop and then thankfully we’ll have a few days where we can actually practice before we go into our next contest.”
Today’s game will mark the fourth matchup in a week for UF, which means the team hasn’t had the luxury of consecutive practices. After today’s game, the team will be off until it plays Rutgers on Dec. 7.
“I think that’s what we’re really in need of right now, is some practice time,” Butler said.
Players may be aching, and physically and mentally exhausted, but they know there’s no rest for the weary — especially if the weary are to succeed.
“This is where the best become the best, when you’re hurting and tired at practice,” point guard Lonnika Thompson said.
In the small amount of practice time the team had Saturday, the Gators emphasized beefing up the post game and detracting from the notion that Florida’s only strength was outside shooting.
Senior Sharielle Smith said UF is exploring more options on offense, including looking inside when coming off screens instead of immediately scanning for shooters on the wing.
“Our practices are harder than a 40-minute game,” Smith said.
It worked against FIU when the team dominated the paint, clearing up the perimeter for easier and more open looks to the basket.
It wasn’t just the post players doing work. Guards put an emphasis on assisting the inside game by grabbing rebounds.
Butler admitted one of the pleasant surprises heading into today’s game was how good a defensive team her squad could be.
While defense was an early concern for the coaching staff, shooting the ball, which was thought to be a more reliable commodity at the beginning of the season, has moved up the list of coaching concerns.
With UF struggling to shoot the ball so far this season, the defense will have to be tight if the Gators are going to stay in ball games when the shots aren’t falling.
And if it’s one of those days where the rim seems to have a lid on it, the defense will be relied upon to generate offense through fast-break points coming on layups and scoring off turnovers.
Butler isn’t overlooking the Rattlers.
“It would absolutely make their season to come to Florida and beat the Gators,” she said.
