GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The University of Florida women's basketball team hosts No. 17 Georgia Sunday in what will be Senior Day at Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center. Graduate students
Emily Sullivan and
Cydnee Kinslow and seniors Kiki Smith and
Danielle Rainey will be honored in a pre-game ceremony.
ESPN2 will carry the matchup, which is slated for a Noon ET tipoff, with Brenda VanLengen & Holly Warlick on the call.
| Date: |
Sunday, Feb. 28 |
| Time: |
Noon ET |
| Matchup: |
Florida (10-11, 3-10) vs. No. 17 Georgia (17-5, 9-5) |
| Location: |
Gainesville, Fla. | Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center |
| TV: |
ESPN2 with Brenda VanLengen & Holly Warlick |
| Live Stats: |
Here |
| Radio: |
FloridaGators.com (Online Only) with Kyle Crooks and Brittany Davis |
| Game Notes: |
Florida | Georgia |
After an action-packed three-game game week the week prior, Florida enjoyed a "bye" Thursday, last taking the court Feb. 21 at Missouri. UF was initially scheduled to take on South Carolina on Thursday, Feb. 25 but the contest was moved up to Dec. 31 due to schedule shuffling.
Against Missouri, UF's offense provided plenty and in particular, Kiki Smith was sensational, but its defense did not meet the task as the Gators dropped a 96-80 decision to the Tigers in Columbia. Falling to 0-2 against Mizzou this season, UF saw the senior Smith go for a career-best 34 points but Missouri's program-record 18 three-pointers were the story. The Gators whittled what was once a 23-point deficit to just 10 in the fourth, but they couldn't keep pace after a 10-0 MU run.
Smith's veteran play and production have off the charts this season but over her last nine games she's found an even higher gear. She's scored 20 or more points seven times and collected five double-doubles, averaging 23.1 points, 7.7 rebounds and 4.2 assists. In league games, Smith is averaging 18.5 points per game, which is the sixth-best mark in the SEC. She is shooting .479 from the field in those contests and the lead guard is the only player in the league leading their team in scoring, rebounds and assists.
Smith has increased her scoring by 6.6 points per game from her average of 11.9 last year to this season's mark of 18.5. Smith's scoring increase is the highest by a Florida player since Ronni Williams made the jump from 11.1 points per game in 2015-16 to 19.2 points per game in 2016-17.
Smith and
Lavender Briggs, who will miss the remainder of the season due to a foot ailment, have combined to average 38.0 points per game this season, forming one of the nation's best 1-2 punches, and they'll go down in the record books as the highest scoring duo in program history.
| PLAYERS |
PPG |
YEAR |
| Lavender Briggs/ Kiki Smith |
38.0 |
2020-21 |
| Doreen Landolfi/Quientella Bonner |
35.6 |
1978-79 |
| Tonya Washington/Tiffany Travis |
35.1 |
2000-01 |
| Tammy Jackson/Terry Whitehead |
35.0 |
1981-82 |
| Delisha Milton/Murriel Page |
34.4 |
1997-98 |
Despite the senior statesmen Smith leading the way, Florida's roster is quite young.
Jordyn Merritt, one of six underclassmen on UF's roster, was tabbed the SEC Freshman of the Week this past Tuesday. Merritt, a key cog in Florida's underclassmen cohort, a group that accounts for 60 percent of the team's scoring, has started Florida's last four games. The Texas native put together one of the best performances of her young career Sunday at Missouri, totaling 12 points, nine rebounds and two assists in 33 minutes. She set a new career high with her nine rebounds against the Tigers and posted her second double-digit scoring game of the season. The 6-foot-3 forward ranks top 10 among SEC freshmen in scoring, minutes played and rebounding.
UF has faced off with Georgia 77 times over the years, its second most games played against one opponent. The Lady Bulldogs have claimed the last seven meetings between the programs and the Gators are in search of their first win over Georgia in Gainesville since February of 2017. UF has not defeated a ranked Georgia team at home since Feb. 19, 2012.
Sunday is the second meeting this season between the teams this season as they met for a Sunday afternoon matchup on Jan. 10 at Stegeman Coliseum. UF raced out to an early lead and possessed the edge after the first quarter, but could not hold on as the Lady Bulldogs surged ahead in the second and third periods. Florida shrunk a 17-point deficit to just eight in the fourth quarter but the Lady Bulldogs held serve at home. Georgia and Missouri are the only two teams in Florida plays twice this season.
Georgia, one of six SEC teams in the top 20 of the NCAA NET rankings, enters the contest at No. 16 and also features a No. 17 ranking in the AP Top 25. The Lady Bulldogs (17-5, 9-5) are fighting for SEC Tournament seeding and are currently fourth in the league standings after falling to No. 17 Kentucky, 62-58 in their home finale Thursday night. Senior Jenna Staiti led the way with 16 and UGA was in striking distance late but couldn't fend off UK who was led in scoring by All-SEC standout Rhyne Howard's 27 points. Georgia, which has won four of five, is one of the league's stingiest defensive units, allowing just 59.2 points per game. At +12.2 the Lady Bulldogs have the SEC's third-best scoring margin and rank near the top of league in free throw percentage (.737, No. 2), blocked shots (6.3, No. 2) and assists (15.6, No. 1). A trio of seniors account for the majority of UGA's offensive production with Staiti, Gabby Connally and Que Morrison leading the way. Staiti, the Maryland Terrapin transfer, paces the Lady Bulldogs in scoring (13.9), rebounding (7.7) and is atop the entire SEC in blocked shots averaging 3.1 per contest. Connally, a veteran guard, averages 12.5 points and is the team's best shooter with a 40.9 percent shooting mark from distance and a team-best 47 made three-pointers. Morrison averages 11.2 points per game and leads the club in assists and steals. In her sixth season at the helm, Joni Taylor leads the Lady Bulldogs. Taylor, a graduate of the University of Alabama, had led UGA to at least 15 victories in every season and twice has won over 20 games.
Florida, which received a first round bye in the SEC Tournament for the first time in four years a season ago, will look to do the same this season. With a win and/or an Ole Miss loss, Florida would avoid playing on the tournament's first day and secure the No. 11 seed. With a loss and an Ole Miss win, UF would be assigned the No. 12 and would play on Wednesday against Auburn.
NOTABLES
- Florida enters the matchup with a No. 59 ranking in the NET while the Lady Bulldogs enter at No. 16. The SEC features 11 squads ranked within the top 60.
- The Gators have outrebounded their opponent in six of their last eight games and hold an 8-4 record when winning the battle of the boards.
- Sunday marks the Gators' 12th nationally-televised game and first appearance on ESPN2 since Dec. 2017 at Auburn. UF's 12 games on national television are its most since the 2014-15 season.
- Florida is in search of its first win over an AP Top 25 since Fen. 23, 2020 when it defeated No. 22 Arkansas on what was last year's "Senior Sendoff". If Florida were to prevail on Sunday, it would have a win against its highest ranked foe at home since it defeated No. 12 Texas A&M, 83-81 on Feb. 4, 2016. The Gators are 0-6 against ranked foes this year.
- Smith enters the matchup with 967 career points. With a minimum of two games remaining (scheduled), Smith would need to average just a shade over 16 points per game to break 1,000 by season's send. She also has 286 assists; only 13 players in program history have eclipsed the 300 assist mark.
- Six of UF's 11 losses are by 10 or fewer points. Looking back at last season, UF's average deficit in its losses was over 17 points while this year when it has lost it has been a spread on average of just over 10 points. A season ago UF suffered seven setbacks of 20 or more points, it has just one such loss this season.
- After missing the first 10 games of the season recovery from a foot injury, Brynn Farrell has really come on strong for the Gators. The freshman has scored six or more points in five-straight games, including her career-high eight at Mizzou.
- Florida hasn't played its final regular season game at home since Feb. 26, 2017 when it defeated Georgia, 65-58.
- UF featured its seventh different lineup combination at Mizzou. Smith is the lone Gator to have started all 21 games.
FOLLOW THE GATORS
SOCIAL: Twitter | Facebook | Instagram
JOIN THE CONVERSATION: #GoGators
