BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Despite a season-best 14 assists and a game-high 22 points from junior guard Delicia Washington, the University of Florida women's basketball team (0-5) fell at Indiana (4-0) Wednesday afternoon at the Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.
 
Facing their second Big Ten opponent in as many games, the Gators finished with two in double figures as sophomore guard Kiki Smith netted a season-high 14 points which included a season-best two three-point field goals.
 
Washington added a team-best seven rebounds and tied a team best with four assists while collecting her second effort with 20+ point effort this season. The junior finished three of six from beyond the arc and scored 11 of her 22 points in the first half when the Gators hung closely with IU.
 
Florida held a 19-17 edge after the first quarter but saw the host Hoosiers pull away in the third quarter as they registered their 14^th-straight home win and their 10^th-straight victory going back to last season's run through the WNIT.
 
Florida faced a 39-33 deficit at the half despite holding the lead after the first quarter for the fourth time this season.
 
UF seized the game's momentum early, jumping out to a 9-2 advantage thanks to a string of three-consecutive three-pointers to begin the game. Two of the three triples came by way of Washington and Kristina Moore added the other as she opened the scoring in a game with a three for the third time already this season.
 
Washington finished with eight points in the opening quarter as UF concluded the frame shooting 47.1 percent from the floor. IU countered, outscoring UF 22-14 in the second.
 
Early in the third, UF faced its first double digit deficit of the game but a Gator run allowed it to trim the gap to just six at 47-41 with 5:37 remaining. For the second-straight game, foul trouble had a major impact on UF's plans, as Washington was forced to sub out after notching her fourth foul with 8:57 remaining in the quarter. The Hoosiers surged ahead late in the third, finishing on a 7-0 scoring run.
 
IU featured five players in double figures paced by Brenna Wise's double-double performance with 18 points and 10 rebounds.

Zada Williams added eight points for the Gators.

UF returns home for a four-game homestand which begins Wednesday, Nov. 28 when it hosts Northeastern at the Exactech Tech Arena at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center.

Quotables - Florida Head Coach Cam Newbauer

"We played against a really good Indiana team today and they presented us with a lot of challenges with their defense. They did a great job of making us uncomfortable and took away a lot of what we wanted to do execution wise. We will continue to learn and fight to get and be better. We had some bright spots today with Kiki, Ari and Delicia, really shooting it well. We are getting more production from some different players which is moving us in the right direction."


Notables 

• The Gators' 33 first half points tied a season high.
• UF's 14 assists were a season best.
• Seven Gators scored in the game, which tied a season best for the young UF unit.
• Freshman guard Ariel Johnson provided a spark off the Gator bench scoring seven points and adding four assists, helping UF tie a season high with 18 bench points.
• Funda Nakksoglu's streak of 27-straight games with a three-pointer came to an end. 
• Florida falls to 1-3 against Indiana.  
• The Hoosiers entered the game with nine three-pointers made and connected on eight Wednesday against the Gators.

 

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