Women's hoops faces tough test vs. FSU

Florida women’s basketball coach Amanda Butler admits she doesn’t know if her team is ready for the type of competition it will face tonight at 7 when it takes on No. 13 Florida State at the O’Connell Center. That doesn’t mean she isn’t ready to lead her team into the heart of the battle to find out.

The Gators (1-0) got a boost of confidence after stellar play from newcomers Jordan Jones and Jennifer George in an 86-63 win over Stetson on Saturday. Butler will need even more if her group is to conquer the Seminoles and add on to the 15-point upset UF laid on a ranked FSU squad last season.

“That was a big win for our program and set a tone for a lot of our success last year,” said Butler, whose team has won 17 consecutive non-conference home games since losing to Florida State in 2007. “It was a long, long time ago. But even though it was long ago, I doubt Florida State has forgotten.”

The Seminoles (1-0) are 4-2 against the Gators in their last six meetings, including a pair of wins in the O’Connell Center in 2004 and 2008. The two haven’t played this early in the season since meeting for the second game of the year in 2004.

The Gators’ main focus will be slowing down forward Jacinta Monroe and center Cierra Bravard. That duo combined for 25 points and 15 rebounds in FSU’s season-opening 79-50 win over North Florida. The Seminoles held UNF scoreless for more than 12 minutes during a 30-0 run and allowed just two points in the paint.

Florida counters with the freshman George, who was physically dominant against the Hatters, racking up 16 points and five rebounds off the bench. Three of her 11 free-throw attempts came after being fouled on a successful second-chance opportunities.

George will be joined on the front line by senior Sharielle Smith (nine points, nine rebounds against Stetson), Azania Stewart (two points, three boards) and Steffi Sorensen (eight points, six rebounds, six steals). Transfer sophomore guard Jordan Jones will look to continue the momentum from the 17-point performance in her first game in a Gator uniform.

“We don’t have any players that look like (Monroe or Bravard) or play like them,” Butler said. “We’re very different We may be a little bit smaller and quicker and that gives us an advantage sometimes than being bigger or stronger.”

Though it’s still early in the season, Butler expects the long-standing rivalry between the schools to make for a late-season atmosphere in the O’Connell Center.

“It doesn’t matter if we play each other every weekend, it’s Florida versus Florida State,” she said. “The in-state rivalry and all of the way that manifests itself are definitely going to be there. We may not be ready for that challenge this early in the year, but we won’t know until (today). Our kids feel pretty good about where we are. There’s no sense in delaying it, let’s figure out if we’re good enough now or if we’re a few weeks away.”