13 Azania Stewart

Major: Social and Behavioral Sciences

Azania (pronounced ah-ZANE-e-ah) Stewart is a true center who gives Florida a big presence in the paint … led the Southeastern Conference in field goal percentage (all games) during the 2009-10 season, hitting 61.9 percent (91-147) of her attempts and became the fifth different Gator to lead the league in shooting efficiency … spent the 2009 and 2010 summers in Europe, playing for different teams with her native Great Britain with the hopes of strengthening her changes of making the 2010 Great Britain Olympic Team, which plays host to the Games … made the 2010 GB Standard Life Team that aims to qualify for the Eurobasket Championship held in Poland in 2011 … a member of Great Britain’s 2009 Under-20 World University Games Team (July 1-12) that competed in Belgrade, Serbia, and placed sixth, as she averaged 11.0 points and a team-best 9.3 rebounds over the seven-game span … called up to GB’s 2009 Senior National Team that played three games against Croatia prior to the start of the WUG … represented the UK in China during the 2008 Olympic Games … at 6-foot-4, was the tallest of all 180 female Gator student-athletes on any 2009-10 roster ... had her left kidney removed on Sept. 10, 2008, when it was discovered that it was a non-functioning kidney that had an infection … 1 of 12 finalists for the 2009 V Foundation Comeback Award (included men, women and teams) … the first Gator from Europe … began playing basketball when she was 15 years old when she was spotted while competing in netball, a 7-on-7 game similar to basketball, but the players don’t dribble and the hoop does not have a backboard … played for one of the top U.S. high school basketball programs and summer travel leagues in the country.

Career Notes

In UF record book: highest field goal percentage in a season (61.9%, 91-147, in 2009-10) … 12th-most blocked shots in a season (46 in 2009-10) … highest field goal percentage in a season (61.9%) by a sophomore … third-most blocked shots in a season (46) by a sophomore … enters 2010-11 season with a field goal percentage that ranks as the highest in a career (59.1%, 133-225) … 11 double-figure scoring games ... one double-figure rebounding game ... one double-double

Sophomore Year (2009-10)

Appeared in the first 25 games and 27 of 32 overall ...  started 23 games, including 17 straight midway through the year ... an MRI on Feb. 12 revealed a stress fracture in her left foot, causing her to miss the last five regular-season games: at Tennessee (Feb. 14), at Kentucky (Feb. 18), vs. Georgia (Feb. 21), at Vanderbilt (Feb. 24) & vs. Alabama (Feb. 28) … averaged 20.0 minutes ... led the SEC in field goal percentage (all games), hitting 61.9 percent (91-147) of her attempts to become the fifth different Gator to lead the league in shooting efficiency ... also led UF in blocked shots (46), while ranking third for scoring (8.7 ppg) and fourth for rebounding (3.6 rpg) ... blocked at least three shots in eight games ... led UF with 18 points, six rebounds and a career-high-tying four assists in the season-finale at Miami (March 21) in the WNIT Second Round ... played 14 minutes in the SEC Tournament game vs. Auburn (March 4), scoring eight points and blocking three shots and was efficient against USF (March 18) in the opening round of the WNIT, with 15 points and four blocks in 18 minutes on the floor ... scored in double figures in five of the 11 SEC games she played ... UF’s second-leading scorer in SEC games (9.0 ppg) ... 46 of her 98 total rebounds came on the offensive end ... foot injury limited her minutes against LSU (Feb. 11), when she played a season-low seven minutes and attempted just one shot, failing to score for the only this year ... held a streak of 13 straight games blocking at least one shot ... tied her career high of five blocked shots during the game versus Vanderbilt (Feb. 4), also tied for UF’s game-scoring honors with 13 points, hitting 5-of-7 ... coolly converted both ends of a 1-and-1 with 14 seconds remaining in the three-point win at Ole Miss (Jan. 31) ... career game in the double-overtime win against Auburn (Jan. 7), leading UF with 21 points, 11 rebounds, five blocked shots and four assists, while hitting 9-of-9 from the free throw line in 40 minutes of action - all of those stats being career-highs ... sported a team-high and career-best streak of 15 consecutive made free throw attempts ... calmly sank two free throws with 12 seconds remaining in the first overtime period against Auburn that tied the game and helped send it into a second overtime ... shared game-high scoring honors with 12 points in the win at Arkansas (Jan. 2), hitting a perfect 6-for-6 from the free throw line ... tied then-career-high with 18 points in the win against Ohio (Dec. 28), hitting 6-of-7 from the floor and 6-of-7 from the free throw line in 18 minutes ... UF’s lone double-figure scorer in the balanced win over Southern (Dec. 20), when she tallied a then-career-high 18 points on 8-of-10 shooting from the floor ... grabbed a season-high six rebounds at FIU (Nov. 29), including two big defensive boards in the final three minutes that sealed a UF victory ... fouled out in 14 minutes against Stetson (Nov. 14) in the season-opener ... honored as the Most Improved Player (team award) and earned the Brickhouse Award (team award for practice intangibles) ... 10 double-figure scoring games ... one double-figure rebounding game ... one double-double

Freshman Year (2008-09)

Played in 28 of 32 games ... scored in all except four games and collected at least one rebound in all but three games she played ... averaged 10.8 minutes off the bench ... had her best game as a Gator in the loss at Vanderbilt (Feb. 12), scoring a team-high 16 points on 7-of-12 shooting, grabbing seven rebounds in 24 minutes of action - all of those stats career-bests, as she tallied her first career double-figure scoring effort and was UF’s leading game-scorer for the first time ... scored in 10 of the last 11 games of the year ... 27 blocked shots were the second-most on the team ... in the regular-season finale at Georgia (March 1), scored six points and grabbed seven rebounds - with six offensive boards - in 14 minutes of action ... in the win versus Tennessee (Feb. 8), made a significant impact in seven minutes in the paint, collecting two rebounds, blocking one shot and hitting her lone field goal attempt  ... at South Carolina (Jan. 15), scored five points and grabbed three rebounds while playing 15 minutes, tying what had been her longest game action of the season ... at Alabama (Feb. 5), scored seven points with five rebounds, while recording an assist and a steal in 12 minutes of action ... had converted a career-best eight consecutive free throws, with the streak halted in her first attempt at South Carolina (Jan. 15) … shot 53.8 percent from the field and was the second-leading scorer off the bench … had been first post player off the bench until straining her left hip-flexor during the game against FAMU (Dec. 12) … did not play in the next four games (Pitt, Vermont, Miami-OH, Ohio) as a result … returned to the court with 6:37 remaining in the first half against Mississippi State (Jan. 8), when she saw seven minutes of action, scored two points and grabbed one rebound … tied her then-career-high of eight points in the comeback win at UAB (Dec. 3), where she hit 4-of-4 from the free throw line … key performance in UF’s upset win over No. 21/19 Arizona State (Nov. 29), scoring eight points on 4-of-4 shooting … collected a career-high six rebounds in her collegiate debut (at FGCU, Nov. 14), when she also scored her first collegiate points, putting back an offensive rebound at the 11:02 mark of the first half … college experience got off to an unusual start, as she had her left kidney removed on Sept. 10, 2008, when it was discovered that it was a non-functioning kidney that had an infection … recovering from the surgery kept her away from basketball and conditioning for nearly six weeks, however, was back on the court at practice on Oct. 21st and played in the first 11 games before straining her left hip-flexor … one double-figure scoring game.

High School

Graduated in June of 2008 from Notre Dame Academy (Middleburg, Va.), which she attended for her three years after schooling at Alexandra Park School in London ... 2008 EA Sports First Team All-American … 2008 Hoopgurlz.com First Team All-American … Notre Dame ranked No. 4 in the final 2008 ESPN HIGH Elite 25 national poll after compiling a 28-2 overall record … prep team entered 2007-08 preseason No. 1 … led the Dragons her senior season in scoring with 13.8 points per game, while collecting 9.5 rebounds, 2.0 blocks and shooting 73 percent from the floor … averaged 14 points, eight rebounds and three blocks her junior season, when she helped the Dragons to a No. 5 ranking in the final USA Today national poll after posting a 29-1 record, their lone loss to top-ranked Collins Hill (Suwanee, Ga.), which featured 2008-09 Gator newcomer Jordan Jones … recognized as a 2005-06 First-Team All-State Honorable Mention performer in Division I, while collecting All-Tournament honors for the 2007 Naples Daily News Holiday Shootout and the 2006 Flint Hill Tip-Off Classic … played with the famed Boo Williams Summer League travel team during the 2006 and 2007 summer … coached at Notre Dame by hoops legend Mike Teasley.

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 (Conference-only statistics)