Coming off its first win in nearly a month, the Florida women’s basketball team has a shot at redemption.
A season filled with close calls and near misses will culminate with opportunity.
Two games remain in what has been a dismal regular-season for the Gators (15-13, 5-9 Southeastern Conference). First, they will travel to Nashville on Thursday to take on Vanderbilt (18-9, 9-5 SEC), which beat Florida in double overtime Feb. 6.
The Gators will then return home Sunday to play a Georgia team that overcame a 16-point second-half deficit to beat Florida at Stegeman Coliseum in January.
“Both of them were games that, obviously, we wish we had back,” guard Jordan Jones said.
Florida coach Amanda Butler agreed.
“I’d be lying if I said there wasn’t extra motivation there,” Butler said, adding, “I thought those disappointments were tough for us to bounce back from.”
The numbers confirm Butler’s statement.
At the time, both losses were Florida’s second in a row, and UF went on to lose four straight each time. After the Georgia game, Florida dropped another heartbreaker to Kentucky 59-58 in the O’Connell Center and added a 14-point loss at LSU.
Following the loss to Vanderbilt, the Gators had to travel to Knoxville, Tenn., where the Volunteers dismantled them for the second time. Then, UF let a 10-point lead disappear in a loss at Alabama.
When asked if wins in the last two games can salvage a substandard season that began with talk of championships, Jones said, “Yeah, in a way. I think the disappointment is still going to be there. You can’t get those games back.”
On a positive note for Florida, Butler pointed to the 50-point second half against Mississippi State on Sunday as a sign that her team’s best basketball is still to come.
“I still don’t think we’ve seen a complete ballgame,” Butler said. “I thought our second half [Sunday], especially on the offensive end, was pretty close to as good as we can play.”
A sizeable portion of that success was due to the interior play of forward Jennifer George. The 6-foot junior didn’t miss a shot from the field and drained 7 of 12 free throws en route to her second 20-point game of the season.
After the victory, George texted her coach with a message that read, “It was nice working with you this afternoon.”
Butler replied, “It’s nice working with you, too, when you don’t miss a shot.”
George has been on a roll as of late. The last time she scored 20 was four games ago against Vanderbilt.
In that meeting, Commodores center Stephanie Holzer and forwards Hannah Tuomi and Tiffany Clarke abused Florida in the paint to the tune of 66 points.
“It was the post game that killed,” Florida center Azania Stewart said. “I think we have to take that on our shoulders as post players and really have to gameplan for them well.”
Even if the Gators are able to stop Vanderbilt and start their path to redemption, the sting of this season will live on.
“I definitely think it would leave a better taste in our mouths going into the offseason and preparing for next year,” Jones said “ But I don’t think it’s ever going to be not disappointing.”
