Leilani Correa does it again, reaching yet another season high in scoring with 33 points for the Gators. However, her outing wasn’t enough to lift Florida over the Rebel’s 81-point outing.
OXFORD, MS. – The Gators traveled to Ole Miss Thursday evening to play the Rebels in their sixth conference game of the season. Florida fought to the end, but was ultimately edged 81-70 in SJB Pavilion.
The Gators had a challenging start and were held to 14 points in both the first and second quarters. With 28 points compared to the Rebel’s 48 going into the second half, it was a tall task for the Gators to initiate a comeback.
After Florida was only able to force six turnovers on Ole Miss in the first half, the Gators fought back to secure four in just the first three and a half minutes of the second half. Setting the tone early, Florida began to whittle away at the Rebel’s lead in the final twenty minutes of play.
With as high of a lead as a 20-points for Ole Miss, Florida managed to bring it down to a nine-point game in the final four minutes of play. The Gators were unable to surpass Ole Miss in the final plays of the game, but Florida proved their ability to fight not making it easy for the Rebels to finish out on home court.
IN THE FIRST:
* The Gators were held scoreless for the first four minutes of play
* Florida’s first four points of the contest came from Laila Reynolds<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-basketball/roster/laila-reynolds/16215> and Jeriah Warren<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-basketball/roster/jeriah-warren/16033>, each securing two from the free throw line
* Leilani Correa<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-basketball/roster/leilani-correa/16027> led in scoring at the end of the first with five
* Florida garnered a 100 percent from the free throw line (5-for-5)
* The Gators totaled 10 bench points and six points in the paint
IN THE SECOND:
* The Gators were led on offense once more by Correa, securing nine in the second to add to her half total of 14
* Florida increased their pressure on the boards to secure an additional ten rebounds in the second
* Eriny Kindred<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-basketball/roster/eriny-kindred/16214> led with three
* The Gators totaled four blocks in the first half
* Dut secured two of the four to lead the Gators
* The Gators 16 rebounds in the first half were spread across seven players
* Going into half Florida totaled 19 bench points
IN THE THIRD:
* The Gators forced four turnovers on Ole Miss in the first three minutes of play
* Florida was led on offense by Jeriah Warren<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-basketball/roster/jeriah-warren/16033> with six points, followed by Laila Reynolds<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-basketball/roster/laila-reynolds/16215> with five
* The Gators forced a game high of seven turnovers on the Rebels
* Kenza Salgues<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-basketball/roster/kenza-salgues/16229> led on the boards for the first time this season adding two to the Gators quarter total of eight
* Florida snagged six steals in the third quarter to mark their game high
IN THE FOURTH:
* Leilani Correa<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-basketball/roster/leilani-correa/16027> recorded nearly half her total in game points during the fourth with 17
* Florida secured 25 points in the final quarter– hitting their game high in scoring
* The Gators had an additional 12 points in the paint during the fourth
* Florida distributed seven assists-two from Laila Reynolds<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-basketball/roster/laila-reynolds/16215> and two from Correa
* Ole Miss was held to zero bench points in the final 10 minutes of play and were 0-of-2 from the three
WORTH NOTING:
* Leilani Correa<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-basketball/roster/leilani-correa/16027> has now recorded three 30+ point games in a row for the Gators
* Correa’s 33-point outing also marks her third consecutive game leading Florida in scoring
* Correa has now reached double digits in scoring for 11 consecutive games
* Dating back to 12/2 at Marshall
* In the first half, Florida went 100 percent from the free throw line, landing all 11 attempts
* The Gators finished the contest with a total of 38 bench points and 26 points in the paint
* Florida recorded 17 turnovers on the Rebels, converting for nine points
* Overall the Gators had 78 possessions in Thursday’s outing
TEAM RECORDS:
Florida: 10-8 (1-5 SEC)
Ole Miss: 14-5 (4-2 SEC)
SERIES RECORD:
Despite the Rebel’s victory, Florida still leads the all-time series 24-19.
NEXT UP:
The Gators will return home to host Texas A&M Sunday afternoon at the O’Dome. The matchup against the Aggies is set for a 1 p.m. start and will be aired on SEC Network.
Texas A&M will come to Gainesville after playing Missouri on the road Thursday night. The Aggies and Tigers are set for an 8 p.m. tip, with both teams looking to tally another SEC win onto their record.
Overall the Aggies are being led in scoring by Endyia Rogers with 230 points this season, averaging 12.8 a game. Following closely is Aicha Coulibaly totaling 221 so far to give her an average of 12.3 a game. Lauren Ware and Janiah Barker are leading Texas A&M on the boards with a combined 304 rebounds. Ware is averaging 8.9 rebounds a game and Barker is not far behind with an average of 8.4.
TEXAS A&M (14-4, 2-3):
* Date: Sunday, Jan. 28
* Time: 1 p.m.
* Site: Exactech Arena
* Stream: SECN<https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/id/319ee36d-2fa9-410b-898c-fabada247eb3>
* Radio: ESPN Gainesville 98.1 FM / 850 AM<https://floridagators.com/watch/?Live=5278&type=Archive>
* Stats: StatBroadcast<https://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=490551>
* Tickets<https://am.ticketmaster.com/gators/ism/V0IyMzA5>
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