GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Despite a career-high 21 points from redshirt-junior Zada Williams, the University of Florida women's basketball team dropped a 69-57 decision to visiting Georgia Thursday evening at senior night at Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center. Redshirt-senior guard Funda Nakkasoglu, playing her final game at home, finished with 14 points as she scored in double figures for the 96^th time in her career.
 
The Gators and Bulldogs played to even 49-49 score in quarters two through four, but UF couldn't overcome Georgia's 20-8 first quarter edge.
 
After tying a season high with 13 made three-pointers on Monday vs. Texas A&M the Gators struggled to shoot it from distance, but instead took their game inside and did so with great efficiency as they converted 19 of 32 two-point field goals.
 
Williams put together her best performance in a Florida uniform, knocking down 10 of her 14 shot attempts en route to her career best mark. Williams scored early and often as she was in double figures with 12 at halftime.
 
Needing 21 points to reach 2,000 career points, Nakkasoglu added 14 to run her total to 1,993.
 
After trailing by double digits for the majority of the game, Danielle Rainey scored five straight points midway through the fourth quarter to bring the Gators to within seven at 57-50. A Nakkasoglu floater on the baseline made the score 61-54 with 1:34 remaining, but the Bulldogs closed on an 8-3 run and made five straight shots to spoil Florida's senior night.
 
Rainey finished with seven points in the game while Delicia Washington led the Gators with seven rebounds. Freshman Emanuely de Oliveira, starting her eighth consecutive games, added seven points.
 
The Bulldogs jumped out to an early lead after shooting 10-of-20 in the opening stanza. While the Gators struggled to find their footing in the early going, Georgia came out locked in as it made six shots in a row at stretch in the first. The score stood at 4-4, but UGA utilized a 16-0 run to stretch its lead. Williams was a force inside for the Gators scoring all eight first quarter points.
 
Florida would begin to establish a rhythm offensively in the second period as they played to an even 17-17 tally with the Bulldogs. The Gators used a string of four straight baskets to trim the deficit back to single digits at 32-23 late in the second, and faced a 37-25 disadvantage at the intermission. Williams led all scorers at the break with 12 as she hit six of her eight shot attempts. After a slow start in the first, Florida rebounded with a strong offensive performance in the second, shooting 63.6 percent. Turnovers hurt UF in the first half as Georgia capitalized with 10 points off the Gators' 10 miscues.
 
To begin the second half, Florida ramped up its defensive intensity and Nakkasoglu started to find her way scoring touch. The Gators and Bulldogs played to a 14-14 score in the third as Nakkasoglu added seven points in the frame.
 
In the fourth, Florida connected on eight of its 14 field goals and hung tough as it again played an even quarter with the opposition, tying the Bulldogs at 14.
 
The Bulldogs featured five double-figure scorers, paced by Taja Cole who finished with 18 points and eight rebounds.
 
Going up against a Georgia front line that entered the matchup ranked top five in the country in blocks, the Miami transfer Williams was a dominant force in the paint for Florida as she added her 11^th game in double figures this season.

Florida will conclude its 2018-19 regular season Sunday, March 3 at Vanderbilt. 

Up Next
Sunday, March | 3 p.m. ET
Florida (6-22, 2-13) at Vanderbilt (7-21, 2-13)
Memorial Gymnasium | Nashville, Tenn. 
SEC Network
 
Notables

• Funda Nakkasoglu played her final game at the O'Connell Center and has now scored 1,993 points in her collegiate career. Nakkasoglu has played in 54 games for the Gators, averaging 15.7 points and nearly 40 percent shooting from three-point range.
• Nakkasoglu has scored in double figures in 17 of her last 19 games, including six straight and 22 overall.
• Zada Williams' 21 points set a new career high. Her previous career high was 18 which she scored against Charleston Southern on Dec. 30, 2018.
• Williams knocked down a career-best 10 field goals.
• Williams finished in double figures for the 11 time this season but just her second time in the team's last 11 games.
• The Gators' four blocked shots are the most they've had in a game this season. They have recorded three blocked shots on three separate occasions, most recently at LSU on February 21, 2019.
• Through 28 games, Florida has drained 218 three-pointers which is the fourth-most in program history. The Gators have knocked down 200 or more three-pointers in consecutive seasons for just the second time in program history joining the 2008-09 and 2009-10 squads. UF set the program record with 249 a season ago.
• Nakkasoglu has made 75 three-pointers this season, just one shy of her total from the 2017-18 campaign. Brandi McCain (2000-01) holds the single season record with 101 but the redshirt-senior is within striking distance of second place all time which is 83 (Steffi Sorensen, 2009-10).

Quotables

Head Coach Cam Newbauer
Opening statement…
 "I want to first start off by thanking our fans and all of Gator Nation. We have had some awesome crowds in this building this year and it has provided us with so much energy all year long. I know our players really feed off of it and I can't thank you guys enough for coming out and supporting us. (Georgia) is one of the best defensive teams in the league and I thought that we did a great job after that first quarter being more aggressive defensively. We still have to continue to improve, but I thought we did throughout the course of the night. Some of the shots that we gave up late was us scrambling to get back in the game. I liked the effort we had, fighting hard. We had the ball down 7, 57-50, and had a transition shot that just didn't go down. It's great to have such fight in a group regardless of our circumstances. Zada (Williams) had a fantastic day today, going 10-of-14, a career-high and very efficient. She did it against some good size and good post players. She did a great job being patient. I liked how we kept getting the ball to her, wish we could have gotten her more touches, but I thought she did a great job being super aggressive inside. Now we go on the road to play a tough Vanderbilt team on Sunday."
 
On Funda Nakkasoglu and what she has meant to the program...
"I was telling the team before the game, (Funda) is 7 points away from 2,000. I know there has been people who have scored 2,000 points before, but it's not a big list. It's hard to do what she has done in two years while at Florida. It's superb and she's done exactly what we've asked of her. This is a young lady that got no break this summer. She was on the Turkish National Team, played with them all summer, came back here and went straight into workouts, she has just been nonstop. For her to continue to fight and battle and continue to be what she is, it's phenomenal, it has been fun to watch. She brings it every night, every day. She doesn't complain about how she feels, and she goes and plays as hard as she can. When I first got here, she was a player that might get frustrated when she didn't make a shot that she thought she should make, so she might shy away and stop pulling the trigger. But she has confidence now knowing that she is going to make that next shot and keeps shooting. That uncanny ability to make those layups. It's a compliment to those hours she has put in for who knows how many years."
 
On the team's improvement after the first quarter...
"I think we got a little more acclimated with tempo, the pace and their (Georgia) defense. You can't simulate the aggressiveness of their defense in practice. The game was tight in every quarter except for the first. I think it was just a comfort level, an aggressiveness level. We talked at halftime about coming out more aggressive and more confident."
 
Redshirt Senior Guard Funda Nakkasoglu
On what senior night meant to her….
"Honestly, more than I could have imagined. At the beginning, I was kind of going into thinking 'you've got more games, it's not going to feel like Senior Night.' We don't have that tradition in Australia, so I didn't actually think I would feel this overwhelmed. Seeing the presentation that they put on before the game and afterwards. I did shed a tear or two, which I didn't think was going to happen, but it means everything. To see the appreciation, they have for me and to spend this time with my coaches and my teammates means more than I could have imagined. I'm going to miss every part playing at the O'Dome, the atmosphere and the fans and all of that. I'm going to cherish that forever. Those memories will stay with me forever."
 
Redshirt Junior Forward Zada Williams
On having a career-high performance in tonight's game and her team pulling for her…
"I definitely love it more than I could ever put into words. I haven't had the best couple games before this game, so them still trusting and believing in me to know that if I got the ball, I would try to make something of it. I appreciate them more than anything, especially Funda (Nakkasoglu). She's done a lot for this team. I just wanted to go out there tonight and give my all for Funda. Last home game her, I wanted to do it big for her."
 
On the team's ability to score the ball inside…
"I mean it's always part of the game plan to get the ball inside the paint. Just an aggressive mindset, that was really more so the game plan. The guards were tightening you up hard. That's the game plan. Getting the ball in the paint should be an everyday thing. You've got to score points."
 
On what she will remember the most about Funda Nakkasoglu…
"Her composure has been tremendous. It hasn't been the best season for all of us. It being her last ride, it's really frustrating but she never showed it to us. She never complains. She keeps us going in a way. Her composure, just like it is what it is but we've got to keep pushing. I love that about her."


FOLLOW THE GATORS
SOCIAL: Twitter | Facebook | Instagram
JOIN THE CONVERSATION: #GoGators