Florida was everything it wanted to be on Saturday.
After a poor performance against then-winless Illinois State on Friday, Florida rebounded with a scrappy 73-70 victory against Oregon State.
“We showed a tremendous amount of heart and will,” coach Amanda Butler said.
“(The coaches) really challenged them to battle and come out with the spirit of a warrior. We knew it was going to be tough. This was the biggest team we’ve played against. We were going to have to be really smart about the way we approached the game plan, but when it really came down to it, we had to be resilient. When things didn’t go our way, we had to hang in there and we certainly did that – starting with bringing a winning approach to the court after yesterday’s disappointment. I really couldn’t be prouder of them.”
Seemingly, all of the Gators’ weaknesses turned into strengths against the Beavers.
Most notably, Florida outrebounded a significantly bigger team in Oregon State. The Beavers featured sophomore center Ruth Hamblin, who is 6-foot 6. Despite her presence along with a slew of other 6-plus footers, the Gators won the battle on the boards 45-37.
“To win the rebounding battle is huge, the balanced scoring and only turning the ball over 11 times collectively, it was exactly what we needed to do and it was exactly how we needed to play,” Butler said. “I just loved, loved our toughness in this game.”
January Miller led the way for Florida in points for the third time in four games, scoring 19 on 60 percent shooting. 15 of her 19 points came in the second half.
“We were trying to manage her fouls a little bit and get her off the floor to keep her from picking up three,” Butler said.
“She really handled that well. That’s a tough thing to do to have to come and sit down when you feel so disappointed after making another foul or whatever it is. But to be able to come back in the game and make big, big plays shows resiliency. That three she had was huge. She had that determined, stubborn, good January-look that says, ‘I am not going to be denied. I’m going to take it to the basket, take jumpers if you give me a look and I’m going to knock it down.’ That’s what makes her special.”
Florida was down 35-31 at halftime, but it turned on the jets in the second half.
In addition to Miller’s strong second half performance, freshman Ronni Williams scored 11 of her 15 points, redshirt sophomore Cassie Peoples tallied five of her seven assists and redshirt junior Kayla Lewis grabbed eight of her 12 rebounds all in the second half.
“We were down in the rebounding battle in the first half so to come out after halftime and win that battle in the second half and in the game shows that resilient attitude that you have to do if you’re going to want to compete against good competition, which is something we faced today and something we will face a lot of in the future,” Butler said.
“I think Oregon State is an NCAA Tournament team and it was tough. I’m just so proud of the mental toughness we showed because it would have been real easy to come in here pouting and licking our wounds after yesterday’s game. Our players just didn’t do that.”
Follow Gordon Streisand on Twitter @GordonStreisand.
Ronni Williams attempts a shot during Florida’s 88-77 win against North Florida on Nov. 10 in the O’Connell Center. Williams scored 19 points and grabbed 10 rebounds against No. 6 Kentucky on Sunday.
