Sunday, November 11
Tallahassee, FL
3 PM
Florida Gators
0-2
56
at
63
Florida State
3-0
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UF | 15 | 13 | 12 | 16 | 56 |
| Florida State | 8 | 19 | 17 | 19 | 63 |
Sophomore Kiki Smith
Gators Take Seminoles to the Wire in Tallahassee
Sunday, November 11, 2018 | Women's Basketball
Gators hold lead as a large as 10 but Seminoles make plays late to pull out victory
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The women's basketball edition of the Fresh From Florida Sunshine Showdown was a dandy as the University of Florida women's basketball team tangled with in-state foe Florida State Sunday afternoon at the Donald L. Tucker Center in Tallahassee. The Gators, who led at the break 28-27 and by as many as 10 points, held their ground in hostile territory, but it was the Seminoles who made the plays down the stretch to walk away with a 63-56 win.
Redshirt-senior Funda Nakkasoglu poured in a game-high 21 points including six treys while backcourt mate Delicia Washington helped the Gators stay close late, scoring 11 of her 12 points in the final frame. The Macclenny, Fla. native finished just one rebound shy of her seventh career double-double, collecting nine boards.
It was truly a tale of two halves as the Gators led for the entirety of the matchup's first half while FSU led from the 6:40 mark of the third period to game's end. The Gators never trailed by more than nine, and trailed by just six with under a minute remaining.
Sophomore Kiara Smith put together a strong all-around performance stuffing the stat sheet with nine points, seven rebounds and six assists.
Seeking to snap a four-game skid against the Seminoles in Tallahassee, UF came out the aggressor and held the momentum in the early going. Florida scored the game's first six points which included a three-pointer freshman Kristina Moore banked in to open the scoring. The Gators came out playing suffocating defense as they held the Seminoles scoreless for over three and a half minutes to start. At the game's first media timeout, Florida held an 8-2 advantage over the Seminoles, forcing FSU to open 1-of-10 from the floor. Florida paired its stingy defense with accurate shooting from the distance in the opening stanza, connecting on 3-of-6 from three-point range. This combination allowed the Gators to lead 15-8 after the first, holding their first first quarter lead vs. FSU since the women's game shifted to quarters in 2015-16.
UF started off with more of the same in the second as Nakkasoglu drained a three-pointer to give the Gators their largest lead of the contest at 18-8 with 9:03 remaining. Florida State would find its footing though, outscoring UF 19-13 and shooting 9-of-18 from the floor. The Gators couldn't replicate the shooting success they saw in the first as they shot just 2-of-9 from distance. A three-pointer from Ariel Johnson gave the Gators a 28-20 advantage late in the frame, but the Seminoles would close the half on a 7-0 run to corral some of the Gators' momentum heading into the intermission. UF led 28-27 at the break, but went scoreless for the period's last 3:50, a dry spell that would continue on into the third quarter.
FSU scored the first seven points of the second half to push its run to 14-0 and its lead to 34-28. A Nakkasoglu three-pointer with 4:07 on the clock broke a nearly 10 minute stretch of scoreless basketball for Florida. The Seminoles extended their lead to as large as nine at 42-33 late in the fourth, but a 7-2 scoring spurt from the Gators trimmed the gap to just 44-40 heading into the final quarter of play.
Florida turned in its highest offensive output of any quarter in the final frame, tallying 16 points, but it wasn't enough to fend off the host Seminoles. Florida mounted its upset bid by connecting on seven of its 14 shot attempts in the quarter. The junior Washington, who has now played in three Sunshine Showdowns – the most of any players on the roster, was a force in the fourth scoring 11 points on 5-of-6 shooting. Florida State grew its lead back to eight at 52-44 early on in the final period, but a quick response from Nakkasoglu sliced the lead down to five. The Seminoles would never lead more than seven the rest of the way as Washington and the Gators didn't back down late. The Gators, were within two possessions, trailing just 62-56 with under a minute to play, but offensive rebounds allowed the Seminoles to seal the victory.
FSU featured a trio of double-figure scorers paced by Maryland transfer Kiah Gillespie who put together a 19 point, nine rebound performance. Valencia Myers added 13 while Nausia Woolfolk finished with 10.
Zada Williams added five points and five rebounds for the Gators.
Florida finished the game shooting 9-of-25 (36.0%) from three-point range and the Seminoles held a 42-38 edge on the glass.
For many Gators it was their experience in the rivalry matchup as Nakkasoglu and Washington were the only UF players to take the court in the Sunshine Showdown prior.
Nakkasoglu has now made a three-pointer in 25-straight games, the second longest streak in program history. She sits five games behind the leader Brandi McCain (30).
The Gators return to action Thursday, Nov. 15 when they travel to Macon, Ga. to battle the Mercer Bears.
Quotes from the Court – Head Coach Cam Newbauer
On the team's toughness
"I'm really proud of the effort our team showed tonight. Coming into the matchup we obviously knew this was going to be a really tough place to play and I'm proud of the way we handled the adversity today. We competed for four quarters and I'm really happy about that."
On Florida State's play in second half
"In the second half Florida State just made shots and hit the glass a little harder. We were up for most of the game in terms of rebounding but in the second half they crashed really hard. There were some strange turnovers for us late too. It was a seven-point game but I think it was much closer than that in the end."
On play of Funda Nakkasoglu
"Funda is a gamer and a competitor. She wants the ball in her hands and even when she is defended well she can find ways to score baskets."
On play of Delicia Washington
"Delicia has an unbridled passion and energy for Florida. She wants to do so well for her team and for herself that sometimes she gets frustrated. So before the fourth quarter I challenged her to put it behind her and move on. She had a great response and it was awesome to see the way she played."
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Redshirt-senior Funda Nakkasoglu poured in a game-high 21 points including six treys while backcourt mate Delicia Washington helped the Gators stay close late, scoring 11 of her 12 points in the final frame. The Macclenny, Fla. native finished just one rebound shy of her seventh career double-double, collecting nine boards.
It was truly a tale of two halves as the Gators led for the entirety of the matchup's first half while FSU led from the 6:40 mark of the third period to game's end. The Gators never trailed by more than nine, and trailed by just six with under a minute remaining.
Sophomore Kiara Smith put together a strong all-around performance stuffing the stat sheet with nine points, seven rebounds and six assists.
Seeking to snap a four-game skid against the Seminoles in Tallahassee, UF came out the aggressor and held the momentum in the early going. Florida scored the game's first six points which included a three-pointer freshman Kristina Moore banked in to open the scoring. The Gators came out playing suffocating defense as they held the Seminoles scoreless for over three and a half minutes to start. At the game's first media timeout, Florida held an 8-2 advantage over the Seminoles, forcing FSU to open 1-of-10 from the floor. Florida paired its stingy defense with accurate shooting from the distance in the opening stanza, connecting on 3-of-6 from three-point range. This combination allowed the Gators to lead 15-8 after the first, holding their first first quarter lead vs. FSU since the women's game shifted to quarters in 2015-16.
UF started off with more of the same in the second as Nakkasoglu drained a three-pointer to give the Gators their largest lead of the contest at 18-8 with 9:03 remaining. Florida State would find its footing though, outscoring UF 19-13 and shooting 9-of-18 from the floor. The Gators couldn't replicate the shooting success they saw in the first as they shot just 2-of-9 from distance. A three-pointer from Ariel Johnson gave the Gators a 28-20 advantage late in the frame, but the Seminoles would close the half on a 7-0 run to corral some of the Gators' momentum heading into the intermission. UF led 28-27 at the break, but went scoreless for the period's last 3:50, a dry spell that would continue on into the third quarter.
FSU scored the first seven points of the second half to push its run to 14-0 and its lead to 34-28. A Nakkasoglu three-pointer with 4:07 on the clock broke a nearly 10 minute stretch of scoreless basketball for Florida. The Seminoles extended their lead to as large as nine at 42-33 late in the fourth, but a 7-2 scoring spurt from the Gators trimmed the gap to just 44-40 heading into the final quarter of play.
Florida turned in its highest offensive output of any quarter in the final frame, tallying 16 points, but it wasn't enough to fend off the host Seminoles. Florida mounted its upset bid by connecting on seven of its 14 shot attempts in the quarter. The junior Washington, who has now played in three Sunshine Showdowns – the most of any players on the roster, was a force in the fourth scoring 11 points on 5-of-6 shooting. Florida State grew its lead back to eight at 52-44 early on in the final period, but a quick response from Nakkasoglu sliced the lead down to five. The Seminoles would never lead more than seven the rest of the way as Washington and the Gators didn't back down late. The Gators, were within two possessions, trailing just 62-56 with under a minute to play, but offensive rebounds allowed the Seminoles to seal the victory.
FSU featured a trio of double-figure scorers paced by Maryland transfer Kiah Gillespie who put together a 19 point, nine rebound performance. Valencia Myers added 13 while Nausia Woolfolk finished with 10.
Zada Williams added five points and five rebounds for the Gators.
Florida finished the game shooting 9-of-25 (36.0%) from three-point range and the Seminoles held a 42-38 edge on the glass.
For many Gators it was their experience in the rivalry matchup as Nakkasoglu and Washington were the only UF players to take the court in the Sunshine Showdown prior.
Nakkasoglu has now made a three-pointer in 25-straight games, the second longest streak in program history. She sits five games behind the leader Brandi McCain (30).
The Gators return to action Thursday, Nov. 15 when they travel to Macon, Ga. to battle the Mercer Bears.
Quotes from the Court – Head Coach Cam Newbauer
On the team's toughness
"I'm really proud of the effort our team showed tonight. Coming into the matchup we obviously knew this was going to be a really tough place to play and I'm proud of the way we handled the adversity today. We competed for four quarters and I'm really happy about that."
On Florida State's play in second half
"In the second half Florida State just made shots and hit the glass a little harder. We were up for most of the game in terms of rebounding but in the second half they crashed really hard. There were some strange turnovers for us late too. It was a seven-point game but I think it was much closer than that in the end."
On play of Funda Nakkasoglu
"Funda is a gamer and a competitor. She wants the ball in her hands and even when she is defended well she can find ways to score baskets."
On play of Delicia Washington
"Delicia has an unbridled passion and energy for Florida. She wants to do so well for her team and for herself that sometimes she gets frustrated. So before the fourth quarter I challenged her to put it behind her and move on. She had a great response and it was awesome to see the way she played."
FOLLOW THE GATORS
SOCIAL: Twitter | Facebook | Instagram
JOIN THE CONVERSATION: #GoGators
Team Stats
UF
FS
FG%
.350
.364
3FG%
.360
.185
FT%
.500
.588
RB
38
42
TO
13
11
STL
5
6
Game Leaders
Pts
21
FGM
7
3FGM
6
FTM
1
Pts
13
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Pts
9
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Pts
5
FGM
2
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballF
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