GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Taking on its second-straight top 10 opponent, Florida women's basketball (7-2) returns to game action Sunday, Jan. 3 when it hosts No. 9 Texas A&M (9-0) for its first SEC contest at Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center. Tipoff is slated for 1 p.m. ET and the game will be broadcast nationally on the SEC Network with Tiffany Greene and Steffi Sorensen on the call.
| Date: |
Sunday, Jan. 3 |
| Time: |
1 p.m. ET |
| Matchup: |
Florida (7-2, 0-1) vs. No. 9 Texas A&M (9-0, 0-0) |
| Location: |
Gainesville, Fla. | Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center |
| TV: |
SEC Network with Tiffany Greene and Steffi Sorensen |
| Live Stats: |
Here |
| Radio: |
WRUF ESPN 98.1 FM/850 AM with Kyle Crooks and Brittany Davis |
| Notes: |
Florida | TAMU |
| Tickets: |
Here |
The Gators will look to the comforts of their home court to help them bounce back from Thursday's conference lidlifter at No. 5 South Carolina. Florida endured a slow start offensively, but thanks to a monster third quarter fought back valiantly against the Gamecocks. Sophomore standout
Lavender Briggs led the way with 23 points and six boards.
Florida, which saw its six-game winning streak come to a close, outscored the Gamecocks 29-18 in the third quarter and pulled within 10 heading into the final frame. After the Gamecocks built a lead as large as 22 early in the third, Florida came storming back fueled by an inspired effort and a dazzling offensive performance.
Briggs showed everyone why she's considered one of the league's top rising talents on Thursday. She tied her career high, adding 20 or more points for the fifth time this year. Briggs scored eight-straight points at a point in the fourth quarter, helping her squad hang with the SEC heavyweight.
The second-year star is averaging 14.5 points in her 10 games played against AP Top 25 clubs.
Senior guard Kiki Smith has also enjoyed a strong start to her season campaign, averaging 15.7 points and leading the team in assists (3.9) and steals per game (2.4). The Maryland native is shooting an impressive .514 from the floor as a guard. Smith, who increased her scoring production by nearly 70% from her sophomore to junior season, is on track for another big leap forward as a senior. Her play has elevated her into the conversation as one of the best guards in the SEC.
On Sunday, Florida will be just the fourth team in the nation to battle teams ranked in the top 10 in consecutive games. Just 10 teams in NCAA Division have played multiple teams ranked in the AP's top 10 (Florida, Washington, UCLA, Arizona, South Florida, Northwestern State, Arizona State, Colorado, Utah and Stanford) so far this season.
TEAMS TO TAKE ON BACK-TO-BACK TOP 10 OPPONENTS IN 2020-21
| TEAM |
OPPONENTS (DATES) |
| ARIZONA STATE |
No. 9 UCLA (12/6), No. 6 Arizona (12/10) |
| SOUTH FLORIDA |
No. 4 Baylor (12/1), No. 6 Mississippi State (12/5) |
| STANFORD |
No. 10 UCLA (12/21), No. 6 Arizona (1/1) |
| UCLA |
No. 1 Stanford (12/21), No. 7 Oregon (1/3) |
The No. 9 Texas A&M Aggies enter the contest with an unblemished 9-0 record and a pair of top 25 wins on the young season. Sunday will be Texas A&M's SEC opener as its matchup vs. Tennessee Thursday was postponed. The Aggies have made replacing Chennedy Carter, the No. 4 pick in the 2020 WNBA draft, look easy with a balanced scoring attack that features four seniors averaging double-figure points. Former five-star recruit and Arkansas transfer Aaliyah Wilson leads the team in scoring at 13.4 per contest while Preseason All-SEC First Team selection N'dea Jones averages 12.9 and a team-best 9.1 rebounds per game, one of the best marks in the SEC. Alexis Morris, a transfer from Rutgers who appeared in her first game with the Aggies on Dec. 3, averages 10.8 points while key returners Ciera Johnson and Kayla Wells check in with scoring averages of 10.8 and 10.0, respectively.
The Aggies returned a great deal of talent but also welcomed the services of eight newcomers.
Gary Blair, in his 18th season with the Aggies, is one of four active coaches with 800 wins and is the SEC's active leader in conference wins. The Aggies last took the court Dec. 28 when they put a punctuation mark on the non-conference slate with a 112-26 win over Northwestern State at home. The Aggies were selected to finish third in the SEC Preseason Coaches Poll, behind South Carolina and Kentucky.
The Aggies hold a 10-1 edge in the all-time series, which dates back to 1994, and have claimed the last six meetings. Florida's last win against the Aggies came on Feb. 4, 2016 when it pulled the upset versus the No. 12 Aggies 83-81 in Gainesville.
Florida's matchup against the Aggies marks the second of three-straight games Florida will play against teams currently ranked in the top 12 of the AP Top 25 as it traveled to No. 5 South Carolina Thursday and hosts No. 12 Mississippi St. on Jan. 7. The last time the Gators began an SEC slate with three-straight opponents ranked in the top 12 was 1986-87 when they started with No. 11 UGA, No. 8 Ole Miss and No. 2 Tennessee.
Florida snapped a streak of five-consecutive losses in SEC home openers last season when it posted a 68-60 victory over visiting Vanderbilt on Jan. 5, 2020. The Gators are 20-17 in SEC home openers, all time.
NOTABLES
- The Gators over the past few seasons have been known as an impressive long-range shooting team, but in 2020-21 they have shown they are deft at defending the three-point arc. Florida leads the nation in three-point percentage defense, allowing opponents to shoot just .188 from distance. Florida has not allowed more than five 3-pointers in a game through its first nine.
- UF has shown its offense can ignite fast as it has scored 25 or more points in eight quarters already this season. This microwave-type scoring was on full display at South Carolina Thursday. Last season it only did this six times. It scored 31 in the opening quarter vs. UNF, the most it has scored in a stanza since Nov. 15, 2018 when it poured in 34 fourth quarter points at Mercer.
- The Gators are 6-0 at home for the first time since the 2015-16 campaign.
- The sophomore has Briggs has finished in double figures in eight of UF's nine games and has led the Gators in scoring six times.
- Florida is in search of its first victory over a team ranked in the top 10 since Nov. 17, 2015 when it posted an 82-72 win over No. 6 Florida State at home.
- Florida's roster features some ties to the state of Texas. Five-star freshman Jordyn Merritt is a native and played high school ball in Plano, Texas while redshirt-senior Danielle Rainey played her high school hoops in the Lone Star State and began her collegiate career at TCU.
- At just 5'9, Nina Rickards leads the team in rebounding (7.7) and has corralled an eye-popping 40 rebounds over the course of the Gators' last three games, with a career-best 17 against Tarleton State and 15 more vs. UNF.
- Sunday's SEC Network analyst Steffi Sorensen played for the Gators from 2008-10 after transferring in from Gainesville's Sante Fe College. The Jacksonsville native was a prolific shooter during her time and ranks top five in program history in career 3-point field goal percentage (.373) and has the third-best single season 3-point field goal percentage (.392) set in 2008-09. She graduated from UF with a bachelor's degree in Telecommunications – Management in 2010.
- Sunday marks the second time in as many games that the Gators will appear on national television. Nine Florida games will appear on the national stage this season.
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