Erica A. Hernandez, ESPN Radio

A new trend has emerged from the Gators Women’s Basketball team: getting a lead early on and keeping it. The Lady Gators secured their lead on the Roll Tide 10 minutes into the game and held onto it until the very end, ultimately beating the University of Alabama 61-37.

“I thought Florida did exactly what they needed to do to take control of the game and once they got control of the game they didn’t do anything to let us back into the basketball game,” said Wendell Hudson, Alabama head coach.

Florida head coach Amanda Butler was proud of her team, which now holds a record of 3-3 in the SEC. She credits a strong showing of senior leadership as a major factor in Thursday night’s win.

Senior shooting guard Jordan Jones (Suwanee, Ga.), played a great game contributing all around with a three-pointer, seven total rebounds and seven total points. Jones tied her career and season high of rebonds, but she wasn’t the only player who hit her stride during her court time.

“It is pretty hard to guard both of us if we’re both on our strides. Her blocking and her height, it challenges a lot of teams,” junior forward Jennifer George (Orlando, Fla.) said of her teammate, senior center, Azania Stewart (Wood Green, England).

Both George and Stewart held the highest spots for rebounds of the night, with 12 and 10 respectively.

Though George scored her 11^th double-double of the season Thursday night, with 15 total points as well, her performance wasn’t spotless.

A flagrant foul was called on George for what looked like an elbow to the mouth. Butler remarked that it’s a tough rule, conceding that there obviously was contact but regarding George’s actions as a natural instinct to square up. She also added that even though it was categorized as a flagrant foul there wasn’t anything flagrant about it.

The ladies were not sporting their normal shades of orange and blue during pregame warm-ups on Thursday night. Instead they suited up in “We Back Pat” t-shirts and hints of purple from their headbands to their socks.

The UF coaching staff was outfitted in purple as well, all in support of the SEC initiative, "We Back Pat". Which is a week-long initiative aimed at bringing awareness and recognition to The Pat Summitt Foundation Fund of The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee and its fight against Alzheimer's disease.

Maybe it was those accents of purple to their uniforms that propelled the Lady Gators to accomplish nine fast breaks.

“When you're talking about SEC ballgames, whoever wins in the paint is generally going to win the game. The paint has got to be yours, ” said Butler. More than half of Florida’s points were scored in the paint on Thursday night.

“Every game you have got your hands full whether you are playing at home or on the road but certainly Kentucky has got an unblemished record. Momentum is great if you apply it,” Butler said of the team’s upcoming game.

The Lady Gators now face the challenge of taking their show on the road. Florida will play the undefeated at home and in the SEC, Kentucky Wildcats in Lexington on Sunday Jan. 22 at 2 p.m.

Erica A. Hernandez