Sunday, December 18
Gainesville, Fla.
2 P.M.
Florida Gators
11-1,0-0SEC
79
vs
55
UNC Greensboro
5-7,0-0SoCon
1
2
3
4
F
UNC Greensboro
1
19
19
16
55
Florida
16
14
23
26
79
Ra Shaya Kyle posted her fourth-career double-double on Sunday against UNC Greensboro. (Photo by MJ Holloway/UAA Communications)
Gators Win 22nd-Consecutive Home Nonconference Game
Sunday, December 18, 2022 | Women's Basketball
GAINESVILLE, Fla. β Florida women's basketball secured it's 22nd-consecutive home nonconference win on Sunday with a 79-55 defeat of UNC Greensboro, marking the second-longest home nonconference winning streak in school history.
Β
The Gators (11-1, 0-0 SEC), who haven't lost a home nonconference matchup since Nov. 26, 2019, were led by Ra Shaya Kyle who recorded her fourth-career double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds. Senior Nina Rickards also ended with her fourth-career double-double, tallying 12 points and 10 rebounds, while Alberte Rimdal led all scorers with a career-best 19 points on 7-of-10 shooting. KK Deans also added 10 points to cross the double-figures threshold.
Β
The Gators shot an impressive 33-of-62 (53.2%) from the field, which was greatly helped by a 52-34 advantage on points in the paint, while holding UNC Greensboro (5-7, 0-0 SoCon) to 19-of-57 (33.3) shooting from the floor and 2-of-13 (15.4%) from deep. Seventeen of Florida's 33 makes were assisted on, led by Deans' seven.
Β
It was a dominant effort from the Orange & Blue on the glass, as UF held a 44-32 advantage, including 14 offensive boards. Kyle's and Rickards' 11 and 10 rebounds, respectively, led the way.
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Defensively, Florida forced 14 turnovers that resulted in seven steals with Faith Dut swiping a season-best three. Kyle also made her presence known in the lane, rejecting a career-best three shots. The Spartans were led by Khalis Cain with 12 points and eight rebounds. Β
Β
Right from the tip, Florida's size bothered the Spartans as Kyle established herself inside with a rejection of Cain. Her defense sparked the beginning of a 12-0 run to begin the quarter, with four of those coming from Taliyah Wyche in the paint.
Β
Sunday's first quarter marked the second-best defensive quarter in school history, only allowing one point in a dominant 16-1 effort. Six different Gators found the bottom of the net in the opening period, while Greensboro ended the first period 0-of-17 from the field.
Β
The Spartans' first field goal came at the 9:34 mark of the second quarter, and the opposition even managed to pull back within 11 at 20-9 with 6:31 left in the quarter. Three-straight layups from Rickards, Kyle and Rimdal quickly extended Florida's lead back to 15 at 26-11, however. The Spartans wouldn't go away, once again closing the gap to eight with 1:12 on the clock before the Orange & Blue took a 30-20 lead into the second half.
Β
The Gators came out in the second half with a fire lit, opening on a 9-0 run to force a UNCG timeout. The outburst was capped-off by a fast break layup by Kyle by way of a full-court pass from Deans with 7:38 showing on the scoreboard, giving UF a 39-20 advantage.
Β
Florida's second half-opening run proved too much for the Spartans to overcome, as the opposition wouldn't get back within 11 points en route to a 79-55 victory for the Gators.
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Up Next
The Gators head to Charlotte, N.C., for the Jumpman Invitational on Wednesday, Dec. 21, where they'll meet No. 24/20 Oklahoma at 9:30 p.m. ET. The game will air live on ESPN2 from the Spectrum Center.
Β
Head Coach Kelly Rae Finley
On the quick start in the first quarterβ¦
"Our team did that. That's not something that you prepare for as a coach. They prepared hard all week, it was nice to see. We actually had a couple days off. Our nonconference schedule has been difficult and I think that you could see the freshness in their legs. As a coach, sometimes you get a little worried or concerned coming off of finals week, that we might not be in playing shape or might be a little off in our movement and how we move together offensively and defensively. I don't think that was the case for us and that's a testament to our student-athletes. Our team is really locked-in, they're focused, they're bought into each other, they're bought into the coaching staff and it makes it really fun to play that way. I wasn't surprised by the start, I thought they had tremendous energy before the game and were really focused and knew the importance of winning this game."
Β
On the inside-out approach on Sundayβ¦
"I think we've been shooting the three fairly well this season and every game we have to look at where our advantages are. It's something Shay (Kyle) and I have talked about a lot. Not every game is going to be the same exact game plan. We're going to be who we are regardless, but we're going to search, as a staff, where our advantage is and how we can capitalize on that."
Β
Junior Center Ra Shaya Kyle
On her second double-double of the seasonβ¦
"I think I had that confidence coming in, but my teammates also did a really good job with helping me at that because, for a couple games back, I haven't been playing to my full potential, but Kelly and my team have done a great job at helping prepare me for that."
Β
On four Gators scoring in double-figuresβ¦
"We do a great job of sharing the ball and we want to get everybody involved. We're always looking for everybody, we don't have a selfish team."
Β
Notables
- Florida now leads the all-time series with UNC Greensboro, 1-0.
- Kyle and Rickards each recorded their fourth-career double-doubles.
- Rimdal matched a career-high with 19 points.
- Kyle also matched a career-best effort with three blocks.
- Seven assists from Deans was a career-high for the senior.
- The first quarter marked the second-best defensive quarter in Florida history, holding UNC Greensboro to just one point. It also marked the second time in school history UF didn't allow a field goal in a quarter. The best quarter came on Nov. 25, 2015, when Savannah State didn't score in the second quarter and ended 0-of-14 from the field.
- With the victory, Florida has earned 22-consecutive nonconference home victories, the second-best stretch in school history,Β with their last home non-con loss coming on Nov. 26, 2019.
- The Gators improve to 11-1, the best start since the 2015-16 campaign when they started 12-1.
- Florida has also won nine in-a-row for the first time since the 2015-16 when UF won 12 straight from Nov. 16-Dec. 30, 2015.
- The Gators now boast 799 wins as a program, just one away from becoming the 13th SEC school to boast 800.
- After holding the Spartans to 55 points, the Orange & Blue improves to 20-0 under Kelly Rae Finley when holding opponents to 60 points or less.
- With 10 points, KK Deans continues to shrink the gap on claiming her 1,000th point, currently sitting at 948.
Β
- #GoGators -
Β
Β
The Gators (11-1, 0-0 SEC), who haven't lost a home nonconference matchup since Nov. 26, 2019, were led by Ra Shaya Kyle who recorded her fourth-career double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds. Senior Nina Rickards also ended with her fourth-career double-double, tallying 12 points and 10 rebounds, while Alberte Rimdal led all scorers with a career-best 19 points on 7-of-10 shooting. KK Deans also added 10 points to cross the double-figures threshold.
Β
The Gators shot an impressive 33-of-62 (53.2%) from the field, which was greatly helped by a 52-34 advantage on points in the paint, while holding UNC Greensboro (5-7, 0-0 SoCon) to 19-of-57 (33.3) shooting from the floor and 2-of-13 (15.4%) from deep. Seventeen of Florida's 33 makes were assisted on, led by Deans' seven.
Β
It was a dominant effort from the Orange & Blue on the glass, as UF held a 44-32 advantage, including 14 offensive boards. Kyle's and Rickards' 11 and 10 rebounds, respectively, led the way.
Β
Defensively, Florida forced 14 turnovers that resulted in seven steals with Faith Dut swiping a season-best three. Kyle also made her presence known in the lane, rejecting a career-best three shots. The Spartans were led by Khalis Cain with 12 points and eight rebounds. Β
Β
Right from the tip, Florida's size bothered the Spartans as Kyle established herself inside with a rejection of Cain. Her defense sparked the beginning of a 12-0 run to begin the quarter, with four of those coming from Taliyah Wyche in the paint.
Β
Sunday's first quarter marked the second-best defensive quarter in school history, only allowing one point in a dominant 16-1 effort. Six different Gators found the bottom of the net in the opening period, while Greensboro ended the first period 0-of-17 from the field.
Β
The Spartans' first field goal came at the 9:34 mark of the second quarter, and the opposition even managed to pull back within 11 at 20-9 with 6:31 left in the quarter. Three-straight layups from Rickards, Kyle and Rimdal quickly extended Florida's lead back to 15 at 26-11, however. The Spartans wouldn't go away, once again closing the gap to eight with 1:12 on the clock before the Orange & Blue took a 30-20 lead into the second half.
Β
The Gators came out in the second half with a fire lit, opening on a 9-0 run to force a UNCG timeout. The outburst was capped-off by a fast break layup by Kyle by way of a full-court pass from Deans with 7:38 showing on the scoreboard, giving UF a 39-20 advantage.
Β
Florida's second half-opening run proved too much for the Spartans to overcome, as the opposition wouldn't get back within 11 points en route to a 79-55 victory for the Gators.
Β
Up Next
The Gators head to Charlotte, N.C., for the Jumpman Invitational on Wednesday, Dec. 21, where they'll meet No. 24/20 Oklahoma at 9:30 p.m. ET. The game will air live on ESPN2 from the Spectrum Center.
Β
Head Coach Kelly Rae Finley
On the quick start in the first quarterβ¦
"Our team did that. That's not something that you prepare for as a coach. They prepared hard all week, it was nice to see. We actually had a couple days off. Our nonconference schedule has been difficult and I think that you could see the freshness in their legs. As a coach, sometimes you get a little worried or concerned coming off of finals week, that we might not be in playing shape or might be a little off in our movement and how we move together offensively and defensively. I don't think that was the case for us and that's a testament to our student-athletes. Our team is really locked-in, they're focused, they're bought into each other, they're bought into the coaching staff and it makes it really fun to play that way. I wasn't surprised by the start, I thought they had tremendous energy before the game and were really focused and knew the importance of winning this game."
Β
On the inside-out approach on Sundayβ¦
"I think we've been shooting the three fairly well this season and every game we have to look at where our advantages are. It's something Shay (Kyle) and I have talked about a lot. Not every game is going to be the same exact game plan. We're going to be who we are regardless, but we're going to search, as a staff, where our advantage is and how we can capitalize on that."
Β
Junior Center Ra Shaya Kyle
On her second double-double of the seasonβ¦
"I think I had that confidence coming in, but my teammates also did a really good job with helping me at that because, for a couple games back, I haven't been playing to my full potential, but Kelly and my team have done a great job at helping prepare me for that."
Β
On four Gators scoring in double-figuresβ¦
"We do a great job of sharing the ball and we want to get everybody involved. We're always looking for everybody, we don't have a selfish team."
Β
Notables
- Florida now leads the all-time series with UNC Greensboro, 1-0.
- Kyle and Rickards each recorded their fourth-career double-doubles.
- Rimdal matched a career-high with 19 points.
- Kyle also matched a career-best effort with three blocks.
- Seven assists from Deans was a career-high for the senior.
- The first quarter marked the second-best defensive quarter in Florida history, holding UNC Greensboro to just one point. It also marked the second time in school history UF didn't allow a field goal in a quarter. The best quarter came on Nov. 25, 2015, when Savannah State didn't score in the second quarter and ended 0-of-14 from the field.
- With the victory, Florida has earned 22-consecutive nonconference home victories, the second-best stretch in school history,Β with their last home non-con loss coming on Nov. 26, 2019.
- The Gators improve to 11-1, the best start since the 2015-16 campaign when they started 12-1.
- Florida has also won nine in-a-row for the first time since the 2015-16 when UF won 12 straight from Nov. 16-Dec. 30, 2015.
- The Gators now boast 799 wins as a program, just one away from becoming the 13th SEC school to boast 800.
- After holding the Spartans to 55 points, the Orange & Blue improves to 20-0 under Kelly Rae Finley when holding opponents to 60 points or less.
- With 10 points, KK Deans continues to shrink the gap on claiming her 1,000th point, currently sitting at 948.
Β
- #GoGators -
Β
Team Stats
UNCG
UF
FG%
.333
.532
3FG%
.154
.200
FT%
.625
.550
RB
32
44
TO
14
13
STL
6
7
Game Leaders
Pts
19
FGM
7
3FGM
2
FTM
3
Pts
15
FGM
7
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Pts
12
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
C
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's Basketball
F
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