Freshman Jennifer George walked off the court with a smile after sinking two free throws that put her team up seven points with 2:37 left in the game.
The Gators went on to defeat Arkansas 59-53 to open Southeastern Conference play Sunday.
“I’ve been going to the line a lot, but I haven’t been converting them,” said George, who came into the game shooting 61 percent from the free-throw line. “I just told myself I was going to make it. I just told myself to have confidence and it’s going to go in.”
Days before Sunday’s game, senior Steffi Sorensen said she talked to the freshman about the heightened intensity of a conference game now that the Gators will only play SEC opponents until March.
“Everything is just up another level,” George said. “Each possession is critical, every turnover, every basket, everything. And that’s the biggest thing I realized from SEC games from non-conference games.”
The first win of the new decade gave UF (8-6, 1-0 SEC) its longest winning streak of the season at three games. The Gators have gone 5-1 in their last six games since classes ended for winter break. The 75-68 loss to High Point in the confines of the O’Connell Center — the sole loss in that six-game stretch — left a bad taste in the team’s mouth for the weeklong Christmas break.
To end 2009, the Gators hosted Ohio and Jacksonville and won both contests by an average of 27.5 points. It was the confidence boost the team needed before its trip to Fayetteville, Ark.
UF shot 75 percent (18 of 24) from the charity stripe to put away the Razorbacks (8-6, 0-1 SEC) in a game that saw five lead changes and seven ties. The Gators sank 11 of their last 15 free-throws to ice the game.
“When you win on the road in the SEC, it’s like getting two wins. It’s huge,” Sorensen said. “It’s a step in the right direction for us. Everyone feels good, but at the same time it’s only going to get harder from here.”
Coach Amanda Butler said the team talked about how everything was magnified in conference play, including free-throw shooting.
UF was unable to rely on its 3-point shooting (5 of 19) against the Hogs, except for Lonnika Thompson, who scored nine of her 12 points on 3-pointers. While the 3-point shooting perhaps hasn’t met the team’s standard, the team has been doing a better job generating a balanced offensive attack.
Center Azania Stewart has averaged 12.6 points in Florida’s last five games and has shot 71 percent with a pair of career-high 18-point games in an eight-day span.
George has also been progressing as a presence on the boards, bringing in 40 rebounds in that 5-1 stretch.
Defensive rebounding was a highlight for Butler because of the ability to hold Arkansas to one-shot possessions.
“That was what I was most pleased with,” Butler said. “We did a great job in the second half in particular, on the defensive boards — it was something we didn’t so well in the first half.”
