Ole Miss Rebels during the Gators' game against the XX on Thursday, February 13, 2020 at Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center in Gainesville, FL / UAA Communications photo by Piper Hansen
Piper Hansen

Briggs By the Numbers

Women's basketball standout Lavender Briggs put together one of the finest freshman seasons in program history.

By Sam Stolte

Stepping foot on campus with a five-star rank and a reputation as a prolific scorer, freshman guard Lavender Briggs burst on to the scene in year one with the Gators and clearly showed she was up for the challenge. Her impact was immediate and it was sustained as the Utah native led the team in scoring and quickly became the Gators' go-to option. Briggs' efforts helped engineer a turnaround season for Florida in which it won seven more games than the season prior (8-23 to 15-15), recording the fifth-best year-to-year improvement in program history. With the steadiness in production usually displayed by a veteran, the rookie Briggs was a model of consistency as she night in, night out answered the bell. Below is a by-the-numbers look back at Briggs' dynamic debut season in Gainesville. 

Lavender Briggs

Briggs averaged 15.0 points per game to lead the team, notching the highest scoring average by any UF freshman since the 1991-92 season when Merlakia Jones averaged 15.1. Jones finished her Florida career with 2,001 points and is the program's all-time leading scorer. 

The five-star signee poured in 435 points for the year which were the fifth-most tallied by a freshman in program history.

FRESHMEN SCORINGUF HISTORY
489Bonner1976-77
474Jackson1982-83
463Whitehead1981-82
438Moss2012-13
435Briggs2019-20

The six-foot-one guard scored in double figures in 26 of her 29 games played. Briggs registered the most games with 10 or more points by a Florida player since senior Ronni Williams scored in double figures 26 times in her 31 games played during the 2016-17 season.

Leading the SEC, Briggs logged 34.7 minutes per game. The athletic guard was one of two freshmen in all of NCAA Division I to lead their league in minutes played and the only player among Power 5 programs to do so. 

FRESHMEN MINUTES PER GAME UF HISTORY
35.2Lowe2002-03
34.7Briggs2019-20
33.8McCain1998-99
31.2Born1986-87
30.5Ratledge1986-87

Briggs racked up seven double-doubles, the most by a UF freshman in 19 years and the seventh-most by any SEC player in 2019-20.

Displaying tremendous consistency and focus for a first-year player, Briggs scored 10 or more points in 14-straight games, collecting the longest double-figure scoring streak by a Florida player since the 2000-01 season.

The Utah native became the 22nd player in program history to garner SEC All-Freshman Team honors and first Florida player to collect an SEC postseason honor since the 2016-17 season.

She is a tireless worker who is dedicated to becoming the best player she can be. This league from top to bottom is filled with talent at every position and in particular this year's freshmen class, which was the best in the country.
Head Coach Cam Newbauer
Lavender Briggs
  • Playing well beyond her years, Briggs became just the second freshman in the last 20 years of Florida women’s basketball to lead the team in scoring.
  • The first-year standout averaged 19.0 points per game over UF’s two AP Top 25 wins. It was the program’s most in a single season since the 2015-16 campaign.
  • Briggs recorded 22 points in UF's SEC Tournament matchup against LSU, the most by a Gator freshman in seven years.
  • She was one of just two SEC freshmen to rank top 10 in scoring and top 20 in rebounding.
  • 17 times Briggs led the Gators in scoring.

Briggs sealed Florida's dramatic 74-72 win over Ole Miss on Feb 13. Tying her career high with 23 points, she came through in a major way late in the game knocking down the eventual game-winning free throws and a steal on the ensuing possession. 

Lavender Briggs

Read More