Box Score
 
PRAIRIE VIEW, Texas – The University of Florida women's basketball team improved to 6-2 on the season as it came from behind to defeat Prairie View A&M 51-44, Thursday evening in the Baby Dome at the William Nicks Building.
 
Florida faced a 40-33 deficit heading into the fourth quarter, but rallied back to outscore the Lady Panthers 18-4 in the final frame and nab its second road win of the campaign. The Gator offense would struggle at times, but defensively they were terrific as they held their opponent below their season scoring average for the sixth-straight contest.
 
Playing its first road game since its season opener on Nov. 5, Florida was paced offensively by freshman Lavender Briggs and fifth-year senior Zada Williams. Williams led the Gators with 16 points while Briggs, adding at least 10 or more points for the sixth-straight contest, registered 15.
 
Florida's strong play in the fourth quarter loomed large as it put together its best scoring effort of the game with 6-of-10 shooting while stymying the Lady Panthers on the other end. UF limited PVAMU to just 2-of-15 shooting in the final stanza and held it scoreless for the first eight minutes of the quarter.
 
The Gators trailed for over 26 minutes in the game and by as many as eight, but found another gear in the fourth quarter which it opened with a 15-0 scoring run.
 
At 6-2, the Gators are off to their best start since the 2016-17 slate.
 
After outscoring the Lady Panthers 13-8 in the second quarter, Florida carried a narrow 24-23 lead heading into the intermission. The Gators trailed for 17 minutes of the first half, but harnessed the momentum late with a 7-0 surge. Briggs and Nina Rickards accounted for all seven points over the final 1:24 of the half. A three-pointer off the fingertips of Rickards with just 12 seconds remaining gave Florida the lead.
 
Briggs helped the Gators fight through their slow start with a team-high nine points while Williams added eight on efficient 4-of-4 shooting.
 
The Utah native, Briggs, opened the scoring in the third quarter with a layup, but the Lady Panthers then scored 11-straight points to jump out to a 34-26 lead. Florida trailed by seven points heading into the fourth.
 
Brylee Bartram, who finished with six points, got the Gators going out of the gate in the fourth when she swished her second trey of the game just 26 seconds into the period. Florida kept building as it scored six-straight points to grab a 42-40 lead and prompt a PVAMU timeout. Following the timeout, the veteran Williams took control, scoring the game's next six points and helping UF extend its lead to 48-40.
 
After holding PVAMU scoreless for the first 8:05 of the fourth, the Gators finally conceded a basket when Kennedy Paul knocked down a long two-pointer. Paul finished with a career-best 19 points to lead the Lady Panthers.
 
Winning the battle of the boards for the seventh time in eight games, Florida outrebounded the Lady Panthers 35-28. Kiki Smith and Kristina Moore combined for just three points but both excelled rebounding, snagging seven boards apiece.
 
 
UP NEXT
Sunday, Dec. 8 | 3 p.m. ET
Florida (6-2) vs. Kansas (7-0)
Big 12/SEC Challenge
Allen Fieldhouse | Lawrence, Kansas
 
QUOTABLES
Head Coach Cam Newbauer
Overall thoughts on the game…
"Hats off to Prairie View, they played really really hard and made it difficult for us. They created a lot of tough situations for us tonight, but this is exactly why we played the game to gain experience playing on the road in different environments. We have to get better from this, we have to get smarter from this and move the ball a little bit better here or there. I'm proud of our group, I'm proud of our resolve for fighting through it."
 
On the team's slow start…
"The baskets felt like they had lids on them at times, but I really liked how we put the clamps down defensively there at the end. With a young group like this, we know there are going to be ups and downs, but to be able to fight back in the fourth and finish it that way, we'll take it."
 
On Prairie View's defense and the team's adjustments…
"I think everybody was frustrated early on, they really sped us up defensively. It had us flustered but that's okay because you have to learn how to play through that and come together. We talked at halftime about how we weren't communicating as well as we should. We talked about how we are never out of a fight and that we needed to keep playing. This was a great experience for us in the growth process and I'm just happy to say that we got the w."
 
NOTABLES

• Florida allowed just four points in the fourth quarter, its fewest points allowed in a quarter since it conceded two to Florida A&M on Dec. 9, 2018
• UF improves to 2-0 all time vs. Prairie View A&M and 12-2 against SWAC teams.
• Thursday marked UF's second road win at SWAC institution, it also claimed a 72-65 win at Grambling St. to open the season.
• The Gators have outrebounded their opponent in seven of their eight games.
• UF has won back-to-back road games for the first time since Nov. of 2016.
• Freshman Lavender Briggs continued her strong start, adding a double-figure point total for the sixth-straight game.
• Redshirt-senior Zada Williams led Florida in scoring for the second-straight game.
• Sophomore forward Manu de Oliveira made her 2019-20 debut. The Brazilian missed UF's first seven games after recovering from a knee injury.

 
 
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