Florida head coach Amanda Butler and her Gators (11-11, 3-6 SEC) are fresh off of a bye week entering their final stretch of the season. Florida will face the sixth ranked Tennessee Volunteers (19-3, 9-0 SEC) Sunday afternoon at home.
During the game, alumni team members will be honored at halftime like Gator legend LaTonya McGhee. McGhee led Florida to their first ever NCAA Tournament appearance and is in the record books as the team’s sixth all-time leader in rebounds.
“There were a lot of off-the-court memories of LaTonya because she’s such a great teammate and a sweet person who I was privileged to play with,” said Butler.
“On the court, my biggest memory of her was when she hit the game-winning shot at Bowling Green in the program’s first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance and we advanced to the second round. It was a pretty amazing moment to be a part of.”
The team is coming off of a 67-58 win over the Vanderbilt Commodores last Sunday, a team who they’ll face again at home on the 19th. Kayla Lewis led the team with 18 points followed by Cassie Peoples with 11.
Florida hasn’t had much success against the Vols in the past. Over the past 50 games, Tennessee leads the series 47-3. Last season against the Vols the Gators were defeated by 20 points in Knoxville 89-69 despite four Florida players scoring in double figures.
But regardless of what history says, Butler is still looking forward to a great game.
“It’s always exciting to play Tennessee. It’s an outstanding team full of talent that is very well coached. It’s our alumni weekend and we’re excited to be able to honor those special women with such an amazing match up and hopefully a great crowd,” said Butler.
“We’ve got to play great transition defense and we have to box out. They are one of those teams that year-in and year-out offensive rebounding is a staple. They are especially dangerous in transition this year.”
Including Sunday’s match up, the Gators only have three home games remaining including Vanderbilt and Georgia. They’ll travel on the road to take on Georgia, Mississippi State, Texas A&M, and Alabama.
Tip-off is set for 2 p.m. You can catch coverage of the game right here on ESPN 850 WRUF, with coverage beginning at 1:45 p.m.