Providence Providence/Florida Florida Women's College Basketball recap on ESPN

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) -- Aggressive and dominating inside play is something Carol Ross has tried to instill in every Florida team since become head coach prior to the 1990-91 season.

If the performance by the post players for the Gators (No. 11 ESPN/USA Today, No. 10 AP) in their 88-56 dismantling of Providence on Thursday night is any indication, her players have gotten the message.

Florida (16-2) outrebounded the smaller Friars 53-29 and was consistently able to get the ball inside with ease, forcing Providence (7-9) to swipe at the ball -- and commit 29 fouls in theprocess.

"Rebounding is a big source of pride for our program," Ross said.

Providence coach Jim Jabir said the Gators' size -- and the inability of his team to quickly get into position -- caused problems throughout the night for his team.

"We just got outsized, outphysicalled and we reacted slowly," Jabir said. "I am more disappointed in what we didn't do than what they did to us."

Florida's inside players, especially centers Tamara Stocks and Vanessa Hayden, clearly gave the Gators an advantage.

Stocks scored 10 of Florida's first 17 points, and wound up with 17 for the game. Hayden had her best game, scoring 19 points and hauling down 13 rebounds, most of which came in the second half. Guard Brandi McCain had 21 points.

Kristin Quinn was a bright spot for the Friars with 15 points on 5-of-6 shooting, including 3-for-3 from behind the 3-point line.

Stocks, who has started 112 of the 117 games she has played for the Gators, struggled at times earlier in the season but has talked herself into becoming a more patient player.

"I was trying to do a little too much earlier in the season," Stocks said. "I had to evaluate what I was doing."

Ross also was pleased with the Gators' free-throw shooting against the Friars, both in the percentage Florida made and in how many times it went to the line.

The Gators shot 31-of-44 from the line while the Friars got there only 16 times, making 13. At halftime, Florida had made 21 of its first 23 attempts from the line.

Ross said going to the line so much was indicative of the Gators' play throughout the evening.

"I was really more excited about the number of times we got to the foul line," Ross said. "I think it shows aggression."

Aggression is something Ross hopes the Gators continue to play with as they host top-five teams in Georgia and Tennessee in the coming weeks at the O'Connell Center.

Ross believes as long as the Gators continue to get the ball to their post players, things will go her team's way.

"Anytime you're aggressive and you get the ball down inside, something good is going to happen," Ross said.

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