Florida Gators

GAINESVILLE, Fla. - The University of Florida women's basketball team continues its season-long four-game homestand Sunday as it welcomes Texas Tech to Gainesville as part of the SEC/Big 12 Challenge. Tipoff from Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center is slated for 2 p.m. ET as the Gators and Lady Raiders meet for the first time.

The contest will be aired live on the SEC Network with Tiffany Greene and Christy Thomaskutty on the call while Kyle Crooks and Brittany Davis will handle the radio broadcast on ESPN 98.1 FM/850 AM.

Florida Game Notes | Texas Tech Notes

Holiday SZN continues with Florida women's basketball as fans are invited to come out and craft their own ornaments and hang them on the O'Connell Center's tree. Make sure to get there early as the ornaments are only available for the first 100 fans. There will also be a holiday display in the Tom and Jane Johnson Family Atrium and one (1) lucky fan can enter to win a Christmas tree.

The fifth Women's Basketball Challenge between the SEC and Big 12 opened Thursday, Nov. 29 with two games and concludes on Sunday, Dec. 2, with eight matchups. The SEC/Big 12 Challenge will feature 10 squads from the SEC against every team from the Big 12. This is the third season in which 10 games will be played. The format consists of five home games on campus sites for each conference. This year's challenge includes five games that will feature at least one ranked opponent in either the Associated Press or USA TODAY Sports' Coaches poll. The inaugural challenge was held in 2014 in Little Rock, Arkansas and featured a top-5 showdown with No. 3 Texas squaring off against No. 4 Texas A&M. Oklahoma and Arkansas, who were both receiving votes, played in the second game. The conferences split the Challenge with the two games decided by a total of nine points. The 2015 version was contested in Oklahoma City with the opponents reversed as No. 5 Texas played Arkansas while No. 17 Oklahoma competed against No. 18 Texas A&M. Each league again claimed a win. In 2016, the SEC edged the Big 12, 6-4, in the first 10-game slate. Last season, both teams split the Challenge with a 5-5 mark. 

Florida's all time mark against Big 12 foes stands at 12-7 and UF is 1-0 in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge, having won its lone matchup in the Challenge a season ago. Last season, the Gators downed Oklahoma in the event, winning 80-61 in Norman fueled by Delicia Washington's double-double (10 points, career-best 15 rebounds).

Florida fell to Northeastern 79-66 in its most recent matchup seeing the Huskies pull away late to earn their sixth victory of the season. The Gators trailed 33-30 at the break and held a two-point lead in the third quarter, but the Huskies outscored UF 22-15 in the final 10 minutes of action. Three Gators finished in double figures paced by redshirt-senior Funda Nakkasoglu's team-best 23 while Kiki Smith and Delicia Washington finished with 11 and 10 points, respectively. Junior-college transfer Paige Robinson collected a career-high 10 boards and a season-best nine Gators scored in the game. 

Texas Tech, slated to finish 10th in the Big 12 preseason poll, is off to a 5-1 start, just two victories away from equalling its 2017-18 win total of seven. The Lady Raiders, who will face the rigors of the road for the first time Sunday, feature a quartet of double-figure scorers paced by Brittany Brewer's 16.7 points per game. Brewer and teammate Chrislyn Carr (16.2) both rank top six in the league in scoring. TTU averages 78.5 points per game, the fourth-most in the Big 12 and leads the conference averaging 50.0 rebounds per contest. Marlene Stollings is in her first season at the helm in Lubbock after spending the last four seasons at Minnesota. From 2007-2011 Stollings served as an assistant coach at Ole Miss. The Lady Raiders, off to their best start since the 2015-16 season, have had at least three players score in double figures in all of their games.

Following Sunday's competition against TTU, the Gators return home to host in-state foe Bethune-Cookman on Wednesday, Dec. 9. 

Game Information
Time & Date: Sunday, Dec. 2 | 2 p.m.
TV: SEC Network
Live Stats: Link
Radio: ESPN 98.1 FM/850 AM
Records: Florida 0-6 | Texas Tech 5-1

Notables 

• UF has faced a tough schedule to open the season as its six opponents so far have a combined 30-6 record as of games through Nov. 28.
• Funda Nakksasoglu has finished with 20 or more points in five of the Gators' first six games to open the season, becoming the first Gator since Monique Cardenas in 2002-03 to do so.
  • She leads SEC in scoring at 20.0 points per game and ranks second the league in three-point percentage, converting 53.7 percent of her attempts from distance. 
  • Nakkasoglu, who had six games with 20 or more points a season ago, already has five this season and her 20.0 points per game average through six games is the most for a Gator since Eleanna Christinaki averaged 20.7 through the first six games of the 2015-16 campaign.
• Coach Newbauer and Coach Stollings squared off during the 2016-17 season when Stollings led her Minnesota Golden Gophers to a narrow 75-74 win at home over Newbauer's Belmont Bruins.
• Delicia Washington has opened the season with six-straight double-figure scoring games, the most since Eleanna Christinaki scored 10 or more in six-straight to open the 2016-17 campaign.
• Florida is the only team in the SEC featuring two players ranked top five in the league in scoring with Nakkasoglu (20.0) and Washington (17.7).
• Florida has led after the first quarter in four of its six games.
• UF has knocked down at least eight three-pointers in four of its last five games after making just four in the season opener.

Promotions

• Holiday SZN- Holiday SZN continues with Florida women's basketball as fans are invited to come out and craft their own ornaments and hang them on the O'Connell Center's tree. Make sure to get there early as the ornaments are only available for the first 100 fans.  There will also be a holiday display in the Tom and Jane Johnson Family Atrium and one (1) lucky fan can enter to win a Christmas tree.
• Kids Korner – Kids Korner will be located on the main concourse featuring games for all ages.
• Sunday Sundaes—Ice cream party available following the game FREE for all fans. Available while supplies last in the Tom and Jane Johnson Family Atrium.
• Post-Game Autographs-The Gators will sign autographs and interact with fans following the game in the Tom and Jane Johnson Family Atrium.
• DJ Vinny Phu—DJ Vinny Phu will be at each home game throughout the 2018-19 season.

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