GAINESVILLE, Fla. – With its sights set on its third-straight SEC win, the University of Florida women's basketball team returns home Thursday evening to host Missouri at Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center. Tipoff is slated for 6 p.m. ET and the contest will be carried on SEC Network+ with Kyle Crooks and Brittany Davis on the call.
UF last took the court this past Sunday at Ole Miss where it registered a 78-68 victory. Winning for the first time in Oxford since 2016 and the for the third-straight time in the series, Florida trailed at the half but used a pivotal third quarter run to propel it to the win. Senior Kiki Smith had her finger prints all over the victory as she netted 25 points, including 13 in the aforementioned third quarter surge. The scoring phenom
Lavender Briggs contributed significantly in several facets, compiling 16 points, six boards and four assists.
Coach Newbauer did not travel and missed UF's game at Ole Miss due to health and safety protocols this past Sunday. Associate head coach
Kelly Rae Finley served as Florida's acting head coach for the contest during his absence.
At Ole Miss, Florida shot it well. Period. From the field, from distance and especially from the charity stripe. The Gators connected on 16 of their 19 tries from the free throw line, shooting a season-best 84.2 percent. UF posted a 48.2 percent mark overall, its best so far in league play. The Gators made eight 3-pointers, their most since early December and shot an even 50 percent from beyond the arc. Donning their sleek black uniforms, the Gators dished out 17 assists, their second highest total this season and most since they racked up 18 in a win at UNC Asheville.
UF exploded for 25 points and limited the Rebels to just 12 in the pivotal third stanza. UF's offense has shown it can ignite fast as it has scored 25 or more points in 10 quarters this season. Last season it only did this six times. UF scored 31 in the first quarter vs. UNF, the most it has scored in since 2018. In their SEC opener at No. 5 South Carolina, the Gators erupted for 29 points in the third quarter.
The left-handed lead guard, Smith, has been excellent all season for the Gators but especially effective of her last four games. The Maryland native is averaging 20.3 points, 6.5 rebounds and 4.5 assists. Briggs, who was tabbed SEC Player of the Week on Jan. 19, continues to put up consistent numbers for UF. Over the course of seven SEC games, Briggs is averaging 22.1 points per contest. UF is 4-1 when Briggs and Smith combine for 40 points or more. The dynamic duo has combined for 41, 40 and 62 points, respectively, over their last three contests.
Nina Rickards has been a player who has quietly and consistently made plays for Florida. She has been an under-the-radar performer and leads the team in three-point percentage (42.9) and rebounds (7.1) and has collected six double-figure scoring games. Starting center
Faith Dut has made seven of her last nine shots from the field and veteran
Kristina Moore tied her career high with four assists at Ole Miss.
After dropping the first seven meetings between the programs, Florida has won two of the last three against Missouri. The recent matchups have been highly contested, with four of the five ending with a final score of fewer than 10 points.
In the last meeting between the programs on Feb. 16 of last season, Florida drained 12 three-pointers and
Zada Williams collected 15 points and 12 rebounds as the Gators posted a 75-67 win at Missouri. It was UF's first time winning in Columbia since the series began in 2013. Briggs added 15 and underclassmen combined to score 54 points in the road win.
The Tigers enter the contest with a 5-5 overall record which includes a 1-4 mark in SEC play. After their season-opening winning vs. North Alabama on Nov. 27, the Tigers saw their next four games get postponed or canceled and did not play their next game until Dec. 14, a loss to Missouri State at home. In league play the Tigers, like the Gators, have a win at Ole Miss but have losses to Alabama, Arkansas, LSU and most recently No. 8 Texas A&M on Sunday. Sunday's contest with the Aggies was a tight one as it was just a one possession game in the final seconds, but the Tigers dropped a narrow 70-66 decision in Columbia. Missouri, one of the SEC's most efficient offenses, leads the conference in field goal percentage at .521 and features a trio of double-figure scorers. 2019-20 All-SEC Freshman Team honoree Aijha Blackwell paces the team at 14.6 points per game and collects a team-best 10.0 rebounds per contest. South Carolina transfer Ladazhia Williams checks in at 13.5 points per game and Hayley Frank, also an SEC All-Freshman Team honoree a season ago, averages 13.1. St. Louis native Shug Dickson paces the Tigers in assists (4.0 per game) despite having appeared off the bench in all 10 games.
Missouri, which has qualified for four-consecutive NCAA Tournaments, is under the direction of 11th-year head coach Robin Pingeton. Pingeton has over 150 wins at three different programs as she also led Illinois State and St. Ambrose. Mizzou was picked to finish 10th in the SEC Preseason Coaches Poll.
NOTABLES
- The Gators are in search of their third-straight SEC win something they haven't accomplished since the 2015-16 season.
- The Gators and the Tigers will meet again on Feb. 21 in Columbia. Mizzou is one of two teams Florida is slated to play twice (Georgia).
- Missouri enters the game shooting an SEC-best .521 from the field. Florida has allowed just two teams to shoot .500 or better in a contest this season (Charleston Southern, .500, Dec. 2 and Texas A&M, .552, Jan. 4).
- In six of their first seven conference games, the Gators have held their opponent below their scoring average. Florida held nationally-ranked Mississippi State to 15 points fewer than its scoring average coming in (83 to 68) and against Georgia it held the Lady Bulldogs to 10 points fewer (78 to 68). Against Auburn, it limited the Tigers to just 54 points and held them to just 27.9 percent shooting from the floor, the lowest field goal percentage it has allowed to an opponent all season.
- In the NET rankings (Jan. 26), Florida comes in at No. 54 while Missouri is slated at No. 47.
- Kiki Smith ranks No. 6 among active SEC players in steals (124) and is averaging 2.5 this season, the fourth-best figure in the conference.
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