Place an Ad Calendars Classified Forums Sports Weather

sptimes.com Text-only News sections Arts & Entertainment AP The Wire Business Citrus County Columnists Floridian Hernando County Hillsborough Letters Movies Neighborhood Times News Update North Pinellas North of Tampa Obituaries Opinion Pasco County South Pinellas Sports State Tampa Bay TV Times World & Nation  Find your local news section Weekly sections Brandon Times City Times Homes Outdoors Perspective Personal Tech Taste Travel Weekend Xpress Special Sections Arena football Buccaneers College football Devil Rays Lightning Police reports Schools Seniority Subscriber Services Subscribe Renew Help Advertise Place an ad In print Online Market Info Join Us Internships Scholarships Times Jobs Contact us

Gators cold going into postseason

GAINESVILLE -- It's not the most desirable way to enter the postseason, having lost four of seven and two of three.

But that's the situation facing the 16th-ranked Florida women as they prepare to open play tonight in the SEC tournament.

Coach Carol Ross said she isn't overly concerned, however.

"Based on my research, when we screw up the regular-season finish, we tend to play a little bit better in the tournament," Ross said. "It is what it is. We got beat, and we played bad. And it gives me something to (complain) about for two weeks, so you go with it.

"I'd probably be a lot more upset if we had won big. Then I would be worried about how to keep the fat cats hungry."

No.6-seeded Florida (18-9, 8-6 SEC) plays 11th-seeded Auburn (15-12, 3-11) at 9:15 at the Gaylord Entertainment Center in Nashville. The Gators beat Auburn 70-61 during the regular season, but the players said that doesn't matter. "The way I'm looking at it is that it's a fresh start. It's a new season, a one-game season," guard Brandi McCain said. "We're going to look at Auburn like it's our first time playing them."

"Losing four of seven is not a very good record or what we wanted it to be," forward Monique Cardenas said. "But we need to go in there with confidence whether our record reflects it or not. Everyone is 0-0 right now, and we need to go out and play like every game is our last."

Auburn, 5-1 against Florida in the SEC tournament, defeated No.10 South Carolina on Feb.21. This season's tournament is considered as wide open as any in recent history. The conference's dominant team, Tennessee (24-3), has shown it is beatable. And many teams are battling for postseason berths.

"You look at the bracket and look at who you've got to play, and you say, "Oh God."' Ross said. "But then you look at who you could have had to play, and it's the same.

"There's no easy route in our league. There are no easy first-round games for anybody, and that's what makes our tournament great -- that upsets are a very real possibility in every round."

Ross said she is confident the Gators are NCAA Tournament-bound despite having just 18 wins. In 1999-2000, Florida had 16 regular-season wins and was left out. Winning a couple of games at the SEC tournament couldn't hurt.

"I just don't want to leave anything in anybody's hands," McCain said. "I want to just focus on the Gators, don't look for anybody to do our jobs and take care of things ourselves."

SEC WOMEN'S TOURNAMENT

FAVORITES: Tennessee, Vanderbilt and South Carolina. The Vols haven't dominated and have had several close calls. Vanderbilt handed them their only SEC loss. South Carolina finished tied with Vandy but earned the No.2 seed on a tiebreaker.

DARK HORSE: Arkansas (17-10) began the conference season 2-5 then finished 6-2. It ended the regular season by holding No.23 Georgia to a season-low 44 points.

NCAA TOURNAMENT: Locks -- Tennessee, Vanderbilt, South Carolina, Florida, Georgia, LSU and Arkansas; On the bubble -- Mississippi State, Alabama.

WHAT UF MUST DO: Keep Vanessa Hayden out of foul trouble. Hayden, the sophomore all-conference selection, and senior guard Brandi McCain are the backbone of the team, and with Hayden out, the Gators struggle.

© 2006 • All Rights Reserved • St. Petersburg Times
490 First Avenue South • St. Petersburg, FL 33701 • 727-893-8111

Contact the Times | Privacy Policy
Standard of Accuracy | Terms, Conditions & Copyright