It turns out that I am still capable of loathing the Florida Gators as a general proposition, even when they are not decked out in that hideous orange and blue, and even when they are bringing attention to a very worthy cause. Sunday the Lady Gators donned pink uniforms in support of breast cancer awareness, then made Bulldog Coach Andy Landers acutely aware of some of his team's shortcomings in a 61-57 Gator victory in Gainesville.
It was a game of missed opportunities for the 18th ranked Lady Bulldogs, who shot a pedestrian 38.6% from the field for the day. It's difficult to lose a game in which you enjoy a +9 margin in steals, a +5 advantage in turnovers, and get to the charity stripe almost as often as your opponent and shoot roughly 10% better once you get there. Yet the Lady Bulldogs found a way in north Florida this afternoon. The main culprits were some clutch shooting by the Lady Gators, poorly selected (and usually missed) 3 point attempts by the Red and Black, and some tenacious rebounding by the home squad in pink & blue at important junctures in the game. Florida outrebounded Georgia 42-32 on the day. In a 4 point game that's more than enough.
The loss drops Coach Landers's squad into a tie for 4th in the SEC with Arkansas, LSU, and South Carolina at 9-5 in conference play. With conference tournament time coming this is critical, because the top 4 squads get an opening round bye, and with it a chance to rest up on the run toward a conference title. Fortunately for the Lady Dawgs they will return to action on Thursday night in Athens against an Ole Miss team that stands at an abyssmal 2-12 in conference play before finishing the regular season next Sunday against LSU. The Bulldogs would do well to win both of those contests going into the conference tournament.
Stay tuned to Dawg Sports for reports on all sorts of Bulldog sporting endeavors. Until later . . .
Go 'Dawgs!!!