GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Florida converted four more shots than Texas A&M, however, nine of the Aggies were from beyond the three-point arc and they used that to their advantage in a hard fought, 67-59, decision against the Gators at Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center Sunday afternoon.
 
Florida held a 36-35 halftime lead, the first time it has taken a lead into the locker room in a Southeastern Conference game this season, as there were three lead changes and four tied scores in the opening 20 minutes of action.
 
It was back and forth action to begin the second half and after Haley Lorenzen's jumper tied the score at 40 with 6:38 remaining in the third, Texas A&M mounted a 14-5 run over the next 5:01 for a 54-45 lead. Ronni Williams, who finished with a team-high 22 points on 11-of-19 shooting, ended the quarter's scoring with a layup and Florida was within seven points entering the fourth quarter.
 
Williams picked up where she left off and scored the first points of the final frame and the Gator deficit was down to five, 54-49, with 8:44 left.
 
The Aggies came right back, pounding the defensive glass that limited Florida's second chance opportunities, and used a 12-2 run on the offensive end over a 3:43 span to build a 66-51 lead with 2:37 remaining in the game.
 
Danni Williams, who leads the SEC scoring, knocked down eight points during that game deciding run, including a pair of three-pointers, as she led the Aggies from beyond the arc by converted 5-of-9 en route to a game-high 25 points.
 
Let's Go to the Video Tape

• UF's entire postgame press conference
• Game Highlights
• Final Stats (PDF)
• Photo Gallery by Ashley Williams & Aaron Albright

 
Ronni and Danni … Williams, that is

• The top two scorers in the SEC were on the court for today's game.
• Entering the game, TAMU's Danni Williams held a slight 17.8 points per game edge over UF's Ronni Williams' 17.4 points per game. They finished today's game with 25 and 22 points, respectively

 
Double-Digit Gators

• Ronni Williams: 22 points (11-19 FG), 6 rebounds; her seventh 20-point game this year
• Dyandria Anderson: 12 points, 8 assists, 6 rebounds; her third double-figure scoring game this year

 
Double-Digit Aggies

• Danni Williams: 25 points (9-16 FG, 5-9 three-pointers)
• Curtyce Knox: 16 points (5-10 FG, 4-5 three-pointers), five assists
• Khaalia Hillsman: 15 points (5-5 FG, 5-6 FT), nine rebounds, three blocks

 
Numbers of Note

• This was the first time this year Florida has lost after leading at halftime
• There were four lead changes and five tied scores
• Texas A&M won its third consecutive game

 
See Ya' Real Soon

• This was the first of two meetings this season between the Gators and Aggies.
• The teams will meet again in College Station on Thur., February 2 - just 18 days from Sunday.

 
Twice the Fun

• During the 2016-17 season's 16-game SEC schedule, the Gators will play Georgia (their 'permanent' rival), Tennessee and Texas A&M twice.

 
We Back Pat

• Both teams wore special pre-game warmup shirts honoring the late Pat Summitt, whose foundation is dedicated to finding a cure for Alzheimer's. Purple is the designated color for the disease.

 
The Updated Series: Florida vs. Texas A&M

• 6-Game Series: UF trails 1-5 (UF Home: 1-2; Away: 0-3; Neutral: 0-0)
• Current Streak: Aggies 1-0
• Of Note: The teams met once prior to TAMU becoming a member of the SEC. It was an NCAA Tournament game that also was the final collegiate game played by then-Gator senior Amanda Butler

 
Updated Records

• Florida: 9-9, 0-5 SEC
• Texas A&M: 14-4, 4-1 SEC

 
Quotes from the Court
Florida Head Coach Amanda Butler
"Texas A&M played really well in the moments that matter the most and you have to give them credit for that. I liked the way that we fought, the way that we battled. We just had some key defensive breakdowns at some really critical moments. I didn't think that we were the offensive rebounders that we needed to be today, as well, and I think our team knows that, in particular our guards. Our guards, outside of Dee (Dyandria Anderson), who I think played a fantastic game, we've got to go get some of those misses when the three-ball isn't falling for us. Having said all of that, this bye week is going to be a huge opportunity for us and I'm very excited to coach my team through it."
 
Texas A&M Head Coach Gary Blair
Opening Statement: 
"That was about as tough of a road win as you can have. We played some very good basketball to start the game, and we played some very good basketball to finish the game. When you have guards as poised as Curtye Knox and Danni Williams you make good decisions, and we were able to do that the majority of the game. Florida went in to stop (Khaalia) Hillsman first, but you look at her stats and wonder- did they stop her or did we not find her enough? I think it was a little bit of both. But we've got some kids who can hit some pressure shots. What Curtye did in the first half, hitting those threes, opened it up for us and for what Danni did in the second half. I think that I have the most underrated point guard in the country, not just in the SEC. "
 
On defensive changes in the second half:
"We quit giving up the right handed drive off of our match-up zone. They burned us on a couple of back doors in the third quarter with (Ronni) Williams. They're just very good offensively with good plays. Sometimes you can't stop everything."
 
 
What's Next for the Gators

• UF has its SEC bye on Thur., January 19.
• The Gators return to the court on Sun., Jan. 22, when the team plays at Georgia, which also has a bye on Thursday.

 
Gator Pronunciations for this Release:

• DYANDRIA Anderson: dee-ANN-dree-uh

 
 
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