GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Following a sluggish start by both squads, sophomore Ronni Williams elevated the Gators to a 91-46 victory over Longwood on Monday evening at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center, improving Florida’s record to 2-0 on the young season.
With UF trailing, 10-8, at the 12:35 mark of the first half, Williams scored 13 of her 19 points during the hosts’ 16-2 run that spanned 2:50.
The 19 points on perfect shooting (8-for-8 FG, 3-for-3 FT) tied a career high for the sophomore, and her first-half offensive outburst proved to be the spark Florida needed, as the Gators never trailed again the rest of the way.
Four other Gators joined Williams in double figures, as redshirt junior Carlie Needles (15 points), redshirt senior Cassie Peoples (12 points), junior January Miller (10 points) and junior Carla Batchelor (10 points) helped propel UF to a blowout win in front of its home crowd. UF enjoyed a 54-22 advantage inside of the paint and forced 27 turnovers.
Florida’s offense found its rhythm in the first half, going 16-of-28 from the field (.571), and its defense harassed the Lancers into shooting 8-for-30 (.267). The hot shooting continued in the second half, as Florida expanded its 24-point halftime lead with 48 more points on 19-of-34 shooting (.559). In total, Florida shot 56.5 percent from the field, going 35-for-62 from the floor.
The Gators again helped their cause at the charity stripe, converting on 17-of-20 opportunities. The Orange and Blue had connected on 13 of its final 14 attempts to defeat Jacksonville in its season opener.
Florida heads to Queens, N.Y., for its first road trip of the season against St. John’s (1-0). Tip on Thursday is scheduled for 7 p.m.