Florida Gators’ Female Hoopsters Are In Trouble
Freddie Brister
The coaches of the Florida Gators women’s basketball already knew they had a problem. They talked about the importance of the NCAA tournament with their team. They hoped this would spark their ladies into action and a renewed sense of enthusiasm. Right now, they are still struggling.
Number 8 LSU routed the Lady Gators 85-71 in front over three thousand fans at the O’Connell Center. LSU accomplished this feat without all-American center, Sylvia Fowles. They were instead led by Quianna Chaney who had 19 points. Marshie Dotson had 20 points and 14 rebounds for Florida.
This was Florida’s 13th straight loss against ranked opponents. With the loss, the Gators’ record worsens to 3-4 in the SEC and 14-8 overall. However, the Gators’ coach, Amanda Butler is still confident that her team can make the postseason. She said that she definitely it was still an achievable goal, albeit a difficult one.
In contrast, LSU showed everyone how good they really are. They shot out to a 12-1 lead and led by as many as 27 in the second half of the game. The Gators mustered up a late game charge. This made their coach happy. Butler stated that she was very proud of the effort and the fact that her team did not give up. She praised the LSU team and further stated that she was encouraged by the fact that the Lady Gators did not back down from the challenge of a large deficit against an obvious championship contender.
Depree Bowden poured in 15 points, Sha Brooks added 12, and Sharielle Smith had 10 for Florida. They trailed by 27 at the 8:30 mark, but spit out a 13-2 run over the next four minutes to give themselves a chance. Butler says she kept encouraging her team to fight hard and to just keep playing.
On the other hand, LSU took out the Gators minus Fowles in the second half. The 6’6" center sat out almost twenty minutes of the game when she tweaked her knee. As a result, she had season lows of nine points and three rebounds. LSU coach Van Chancellor stated that Fowles could have played, but that they did not want to take a chance on the injury. Senior guard Erica White stepped up instead and had 16 points, seven assists, and six rebounds. Allison Hightower also scored in double figures for LSU with 16. The Tigers have now won eight of the last nine against Florida.
Clearly, the Gators have a problem. Whether they can correct it in time to get to the postseason remains to be seen. Despite Butler’s rosy words, it does not take an expert to see that there seems to be some glitch in the Gators’ team chemistry. If talking has not solved the problem, then it is unlikely a resolution will be forthcoming before the postseason. But that does not mean they should give up. They should still exert their best efforts to end their season on a high note if they do not make the postseason.
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