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Friday, March 29, 2024
<p>Carlie Needles dribbles the ball down the court during Florida's 77-42 loss to No. 1 South Carolina on Jan. 19 in the O'Connell Center.</p>

Carlie Needles dribbles the ball down the court during Florida's 77-42 loss to No. 1 South Carolina on Jan. 19 in the O'Connell Center.

Three weeks of nothing but losses can destroy a team’s confidence.

After the Gators women’s basketball team defeated Auburn on Jan. 4, the team lost four straight games before Sunday’s 72-58 win over Arkansas at home.

For arguably the first time in Southeastern Conference play, the Gators received strong play from their guards. January Miller came off the bench to score a team-high-tying 16 points on 50 percent shooting. Cassie Peoples started the game on the bench, but ended up leading the team with four assists.

But it was the reemergence of redshirt junior Carlie Needles that seemed to fuel the team.

Needles struggled with her shot in Florida’s first two SEC games — a loss to LSU and a win over Auburn — and was seemingly hesitant to shoot the ball when she had the chance.

She then suffered a concussion in the Gators home loss to Ole Miss, and returned three games later in Florida’s blowout loss at the hands of No. 1 South Carolina.

Without their starting point guard, the Gators had trouble running an efficient offense, and the losses piled up.

So the team was understandably relieved when Needles played the way the team knows she can, as she scored a season-high-tying 16 points on Sunday to down the Razorbacks.

"I think the obvious things you think about when you don’t have Carlie on the floor, (you miss) her leadership, her spirit, her energy, her shooting and consistency," Butler said. "But the intangibles I think are the things we really missed more than anything."

Needles does things that often go unnoticed.

She can be seen on the court urging her teammates to play with more fight and intensity. As the team’s point guard, she’s in charge of learning all of the plays and guiding her teammates on the floor.

Often she’s the one directing the offense, ensuring that the play works out and Florida heads back down the court with added points on the board.

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Needles is averaging 5.1 rebounds per game this season, second on the team only to redshirt senior Kayla Lewis. Consider that Needles stands 5-foot-6, tied for shortest on the team with Cassie Peoples, and the stat gains value.

Her eagerness to fight for every rebound against players often taller than her is part of the reason Needles suffered the concussion, keeping her out of Florida’s road losses to Kentucky and Missouri.

When the Gators seek redemption against Missouri with Thursday’s 7 p.m. matchup in the O’Connell Center, Needles will be out there on the court, hoping to duplicate the success she had against Arkansas.

"Her being so clutch at the end of the (Arkansas game) was great for her approach and her individual confidence," Butler said. "We’re just excited to have the opportunity to compete with Carlie on the floor."

 Follow Graham Hall on Twitter @Graham311

Carlie Needles dribbles the ball down the court during Florida's 77-42 loss to No. 1 South Carolina on Jan. 19 in the O'Connell Center.

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