Lily Svete does not have the statistics of a typical 6-foot-2 forward.
Although she is the second-tallest player on Florida’s active roster, she ranks next to last in rebounding with just one per game and has recorded only one block this season.
Svete’s statistics suffer mostly from a lack of playing time; she logs just 9.1 minutes per game.
However, with the Southeastern Conference Tournament looming, Svete may be on the verge of boosting the rest of her numbers thanks to her scoring.
The sophomore put up a career-high 12 points in Sunday’s 75-59 loss at Tennessee, making 5 of 8 field goal attempts for a lagging Florida offense.
“She doesn’t get to play a lot of games as many minutes as she wants,” guard Jordan Jones said. “But when her name is called, she goes in there and does what we expect her to do and that’s hit shots.”
Svete is one of the Gators’ premier 3-point shooters. Despite her limited playing time, Svete has put up 54 attempts from beyond the arc, the third-highest mark on the team and 39.4 percent of all her shots.
“We like Lily on the floor, we really do,” coach Amanda Butler said. “She is just an amazing shooter and has such confidence when the ball hits her hands and she’s open.”
However, despite moderate success with her perimeter shooting, Svete’s rebounding numbers leave something to be desired.
Her season-high tally in rebounds is just three.
“I think about rebounding every day,” Svete said. “I want to become a better rebounder. That’s one of my biggest weaknesses, just anticipating where the ball is going to go.”
Jennifer George, who leads Florida in rebounding with nine per game, sees improved effort from Svete crashing the boards.
George said she was especially impressed with Svete’s efforts boxing out Tennessee’s Glory Johnson in the paint on several possessions.
However, Jones notes that in order for Svete to continue to trend upward, she will need to get her defensive rebounding numbers up with Florida’s other “big girls.”
“It’s obviously an area that she still needs to improve on, but she’s working hard at it and I trust her when she’s out there,” Jones said.
One challenge for Svete has been to blend her perimeter shooting with aggressive play under the basket. Depending on how quickly shots go up, Svete sometimes does not get to the post in time to get good rebounding position.
“For Lily, it’s hard because a lot of times, she’s outside of the paint,” Jones said. “So, I think it’s hard for her to remember to crash and get in there and bang with the big girls.”
Svete expects to be able to mix the inside and outside aspects of her game as she continues to work on her all-around consistency.
“It’s a different mentality of shooting and rebounding because in rebounding, you have to be all tough and your muscles are tense,” Svete said. “In shooting, everything has to be relaxed. It’s hard to get that balance, but I’m working on it and trying to improve that.”
Contact Joe Morgan at joemorgan@alligator.org.
