Florida Sports Wire

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Kentucky outscored Florida by 20 points in the second quarter and the Gators never recovered, as the No. 13-ranked and fifth-seeded Wildcats earned the 92-69 win in the quarterfinals of the 2016 Southeastern Conference Tournament played Friday at Jacksonville's Veterans Memorial Arena. Kentucky couldn't find the bottom of the net in the first quarter when it converted just 3-17 shots and fourth-seeded Florida took advantage by outscoring the Wildcats, 16-9. The second quarter couldn't have been more different, as everything Kentucky throw at the net seemed to fall en route to a 33-13 second-frame advantage for a 42-29 halftime lead over the Gators. Florida was led in scoring by senior Carlie Needles' 15 points, all of which came from beyond the arc. Freshman Eleanna Christinaki added 12 points and junior Ronni Williams 10, along with a team-high 8 rebounds for the Gators, who were outrebounded, 51-34, its largest discrepancy of the year. Fl...

UF COACH AMANDA BUTLER By MIKE BONTS JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - After a successful regular-season when Florida earned the No. 4 seed in the 2016 Southeastern Conference Tournament to earn a double-round bye. The Gators return to the court and play 13th-ranked and No. 5 seed Kentucky in the quarterfinals on Friday at approximately 2:30 p.m. ET at Jacksonville's Veterans Memorial Arena. "We've focused 100 percent on ourselves and trying to continue to improve. That's been our mission all year long, how can we continue to improve, to grow as a unit and also pushing them as individuals," said UF coach Amanda Butler. " We've gotten a lot of shots up and had a lot of time together and we've had some really brief, but intense practices and I think it's moved us forward." Picked in the preseason to finish 12th in the 14-team league by the conference coaches and media, Florida marched its way to a 10-6 SEC record which was good to tie for fourth...