Florida Gators

GREENVILLE, SC. – The University of Florida women's basketball team kicks off postseason play Wednesday, March 3 when it takes on Auburn in the opening round of the 42^nd SEC Tournament from inside Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, SC.
 
The contest is slated for a 4 p.m. ET tipoff on SEC Network as the Gators and Tigers battle in SEC Tournament play for the 11th time.
 

GAME INFO

Date:	Wednesday, March 3
Time:	4 p.m. ET
Matchup:	No. 12 Florida (10-12, 3-11) vs. No. 13 Auburn (5-18, 0-15)
Location:	Greenville, SC | Bon Secours Wellness Arena
TV:	SEC Network with Eric Frede and Tamika Catchings
Live Stats:	Here
Radio:	WRUF/981 FM with Kyle Crooks and Brittany Davis
Tickets:	Here (See below for fan attendance policies)
Game Notes:	Florida | Auburn

Playing its regular season finale at home for the first time since the 2016-17 season, Florida put together a spirited fight against the No. 17 Georgia Lady Bulldogs on Sunday and took a lead into the intermission, but couldn't slow down UGA which shot 71 percent in the second half. Despite dropping a 95-80 decision, the Gators featured four double-figure scorers including a pair of freshmen, Jordyn Merritt and Floor Toonders, who tallied new career highs with 16 points each. In a game that featured seven ties and 12 lead changes, Florida built a seven-point lead in the second quarter and scored its most points against the Lady Bulldogs since 2004, but couldn't hold on. With its loss and a victory by Ole Miss over Kentucky, the Gators were assigned the No. 12 seed.
 
The Gators have played to a 21-40 record in the SEC Tournament which includes a 3-3 record in the event's first round. A season ago the Gators received a first round bye for the first time in four years but fell 73-59 to the No. 7 seed, LSU. Then freshman Lavender Briggs led the way with 22 points.
 
Kiki Smith has put together a breakout senior campaign and over her last 10 games, she has even taken it up another notch. She's scored 20 or more points seven times and collected five double-doubles, averaging 22.4 points, 7.4 rebounds and 4.1 assists. In league games, Smith is averaging 19.3 points per game, which is the fourth-best mark in the SEC. The lead guard is the only player in the league leading their team in scoring, rebounds and assists. Smith has the most games played of any current Gator having played in three SEC Tourney tilts. Over those three games Smith averaged 7.7 points, 3.6 assists and 3.0 rebounds.

Briggs and Merritt both brought home SEC Postseason Honors, which the league announced earlier on Tuesday. Briggs was tabbed to the All-SEC Second Team while Merritt earned a spot on the All-Freshman squad.
 
Last time out against Georgia, Florida featured four or more players with 14 or more points for the first time this season. Merritt, Toonders and Smith all added 16 while Nina Rickards posted 14. Playing without the star guard Briggs, others have stepped up to try to fill her sizable void. Smith, Rainey Merritt and Toonders have seen the most notable uptick in production.
 

	With Briggs In Lineup (18 Games)	Without Briggs In Lineup (4 Games)
PLAYER	POINTS/REBOUNDS/ASSISTS/MINUTES	POINTS/REBOUNDS/ASSISTS/MINUTES
Kiki Smith	16.9 / 6.6 / 3.8 / 33.6	25.0 / 7.3 / 3.8 / 38.8
Danielle Rainey	6.7 / 1.9 / 0.9 / 13.9	10.0 / 2.8 / 0.5 / 21.8
Jordyn Merritt	5.1 / 3.4 / 0.6 / 18.7	7.5 / 5.3 / 1.3 / 31.3
Floor Toonders	3.4 / 3.7 / 0.3 / 15.6	6.0 / 4.5 / 0.3 / 15.5

The Gators look fondly upon the last meeting between the teams which occurred on Jan. 17 in Gainesville. Collecting her third double-double of the season, Florida's do-it-all point guard Smith, registered 22 points, 13 rebounds, five steals and four assists and pushed the Gators to their first conference win. Holding its opponent below its season scoring average for the fourth-straight game, Florida limited Auburn to just 27.9 percent shooting from the floor, the lowest field goal percentage it has allowed to an opponent all season. Florida blitzed Auburn out of the gates, outscoring it 21-8 in the first quarter and never looked back as it held off a series of runs from the Tigers. The win snapped a five-game losing streak for UF.
 
Auburn, the tournament's No. 13 seed, enters the matchup with a 5-18 overall record. Senior stalwart Unique Thompson leads the team in scoring and rebounding and is one of the league's top forwards. At 17.8 points per game, Thompson ranks No. 8 in the SEC in scoring and leads the entire league in rebounding at 12.9 per contest. Redshirt-sophomore Honesty Scott-Grayson, also averages doubles figures at 14.6 points per game while Alaina Rice leads the team in assists. The Tigers' trademark press defense leads the SEC in steals at 10.6 per game. When the Gators and Tigers met in January, Auburn traveled just eight scholarship players and one walk-on due to COVID-19 protocols. Thompson tallied a double-double in a matchup the Gators claimed 68-54. The Tigers are under the direction of ninth-year head coach Terri Williams-Flournoy, who has amassed over 130 wins on the Plains. The Penn State graduate and former Georgetown head coach has guided the Tigers to five postseason runs including three NCAA tournament appearances.
 
Auburn holds a 37-23 edge in the all-time series but the Gators have won the last two meetings by an average of 17 points. The last time the Gators and Tigers met in the league tournament was 2015 when Auburn posted a 71-49 win in first round play.

FAN ATTENDANCE NOTES

Fans attending the 2021 SEC Women's Basketball Tournament in Greenville are encouraged to become familiar with policies related to fan entry and security for the event, including a no-bag policy for Bon Secours Wellness Arena for the duration of the event. The games will have a limited seating capacity of 3,000 due to COVID-19 restrictions. The 2021 SEC Women's Basketball Tournament is a MOBILE TICKETS ONLY event. All fans will need a mobile ticket to enter the stadium. Using your phones web browser all mobile tickets issued by the participating teams or the conference can be accessed thru the SEC mobile sign in at https://am.ticketmaster.com/sec/#/ .  All tickets bought through Ticketmaster can be accessed at www.ticketmaster.com or the Ticketmaster app. 
 
Fans are encouraged to save their ticket to their mobile wallet prior to arriving for easier access in to the venue.  Screenshots or recordings of tickets are not valid for entry. If you are coming to the game with friends or family, transfer to them their tickets before the day of the game so they may enjoy ease of movement around the stadium.

The health of our student-athletes, campus communities, fans and general public is an ongoing priority of the Southeastern Conference and its member institutions. Fans attending the 2021 SEC Women's Basketball Tournament are asked to adhere to the following public health guidelines:

• Face coverings are required for every person in the arena (guests and staff) and must be worn at all times, except while actively eating and drinking in your seat.
• Wash hands frequently for 20 seconds with soap and water or use hand sanitizer. Hand sanitizer is readily available for your use throughout Bon Secours Wellness Arena. Fans are allowed to bring in a small, clear hand sanitizer bottle.
• Guests are required to follow all social distancing markers displayed throughout Bon Secours Wellness Arena. These markers will help everyone line up for security screenings, restrooms, and concessions.

NOTABLES

• Kiki Smith enters the matchup with 983 career points and is oh so close to hitting the 1,000 point mark. She also has 289 assists; only 13 players in program history have eclipsed the 300 assist mark.
• The Gators have scored over 80 points in three of their last four games and nine times total this season. A season ago Florida only eclipsed the 80-point mark four times and over the course of the previous three seasons, it scored over 80 points just 12 times.
• Smith has increased her scoring by 6.5 points per game from her average of 11.9 last year to this season's mark of 18.4. 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.
• Tuesday afternoon, Lavender Briggs was tabbed All-SEC Second Team while Jordyn Merritt earned a spot on the SEC All-Freshman team. 
• Florida has won its past two matchups against Auburn by an average of 17 points.
• Six of UF's 12 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 11 points.
• The Gators have outrebounded their opponent in six of their last nine games and hold an 8-4 record when winning the battle of the boards.
• Kristina Moore made seven of her eight free throw tries against Georgia last timeout; she leads the team at 85 percent from the stripe.
• Merritt has scored in double figures in two of her last three games, starting the last five contests.
• Emily Sullivan set new seasons highs in her Senior Day on Sunday, with five points and three boards.
• It was announced on Feb. 15 that standout Lavender Briggs would miss the remainder of the season with a foot injury. Registering 19.4 points per game over the course of 18 games, Briggs was enjoying one of the best seasons in program history and she will finish the campaign with the fourth-highest points per game average ever by a Gator.
• Smith and Briggs have combined to average 37.9 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.
• Fourth year head coach Cam Newbauer has recorded a 9-5 record all time in conference tournament play and during his run at Belmont, posted a pair of OVC Tournament Championships.

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