The Gators were defeated by the Georgia Bulldogs on Sunday afternoon. Florida only had two players in double-figures for scoring and was led by Faith Dut on the boards.
ATHENS, Ga. -Florida fell to the Bulldogs 76-60 on the road Sunday afternoon. The Gators saw a large amount of adversity in Athens and were unable to capitalize on the boards. Overall Florida shot 30.9 percent from the field and was led by Leilani Correa with 21-points.
Florida had a slower offensive start in Athens, notching 13-points and shooting 35.3 percent from the field in the first quarter. The Gators trailed 21-13 going into the second quarter and were led by Alberte Rimdal with five-points. Florida was unable to get out of the scoring rut in the second and was led by Leilani Correa with six of the Gators 12 points. The first half finished out with Florida behind 47-25 to the Bulldogs.
Coming out for the final twenty minutes of play the Gators needed to find an offensive rhythm. Florida found small pockets of success with driving layups from Zippy Broughton and their game high of 11 rebounds. The score stood at 65-42 going into the final 10 minutes. Florida had their highest scoring quarter to close out the game with 18-points, but it wasn’t enough to get them back in the fight.
IN THE FIRST:
* Alberte Rimdal initiated Florida’s offense with a three-point jumper, followed by a driving layup off a fast break
* Rimdal secured Florida’s first five-points (5-4)
* In the first five minutes of play Florida totaled 11 possessions
* The Gators forced four turnovers on the Bulldogs and totaled two steals
* On the boards, Florida was led by Aliyah Matharu and Faith Dut with three rebounds each
* Florida distributed four assists in the first
* Zippy Broughton recorded half the quarter total with two
* At the end of the first Florida totaled eight points in the paint, three off rebounds, and two from turnovers
IN THE SECOND:
* Leilani Correa led in scoring with six points, followed by Zippy Broughton with four
* The Gators shot 75 percent from the free throw line with Correa going 3-of-4
* Florida increased their points off rebounds to four and points off turnovers to six
* The Gators snagged seven rebounds: four offensive and three defensives
* Faith Dut led on the boards with a quarter total of two
* With an additional three assists, Florida brought their half total to seven
* Florida ended the first half shooting 27 percent from the field
IN THE THIRD:
* The Gators increased their shooting from the field to 33.3 percent
* Florida was led once more by Leilani Correa with five points, followed by Zippy Broughton and Aliyah Matharu with four each
* Laila Reynolds led on the boards with four of Florida’s 11 rebounds
* Florida notched seven second chance points to mark their game high
* Jeriah Warren hit her sixth block of the season
IN THE FOURTH:
* Leilani Correa led the Gators on offense with eight points in the fourth
* Eriny Kindred snagged four rebounds to lead on the boards
* The Gators outscored Georgia 18-11 in the fourth
* Florida totaled 13 bench points and nine off fast breaks
* The Gators forced five turnovers on the Bulldogs and were only held to three
* Florida closed out shooting 7-of-8 from the free throw line
WORTH NOTING:
* The Gators totaled 35 rebounds: 22 defensive 13 offensive
* Leilani Correa secured her eighth 20+ point game of the season
* Correa also grabbed her 23rd game this season in double figures for scoring
* Faith Dut led on the boards for her fifth time this season
* Florida’s biggest run of the game was seven points in the third
* The Gators totaled 24 points in the paint
* Florida notched 17-points from fast breaks
* Zippy Broughton reached double-figures in scoring for the fifth time in the last six games
* Both Florida and Georgia notched four three pointers
* The Gators forced a total 16 turnovers on the Bulldogs
TEAM RECORDS:
Florida: 14-12 (5-9 SEC)
Georgia: 12-15 (3-11 SEC)
SERIES RECORD:
The current all-time series between Florida and Georgia is in favor of the Bulldogs at 53-18.
NEXT UP:
Florida will stay on the road and head to Tuscaloosa for a Thursday evening matchup against the Crimson Tide. The game will be Florida’s final away contest of the 2024 regular season. Tip-off inside Coleman Coliseum is set for 7 p.m. EST and the game will be available via SECN+.
Alabama will be coming off a Sunday night matchup against Mississippi State prior to hosting the Gators. Alabama tips off at 5 p.m. EST against the Bulldogs on SEC Network and are looking to secure their eighth conference win of the season. Alabama is currently led by Sarah Ashlee Barker with an average of 16.56 points per game. Barker is ranked seventh in the SEC for scoring, followed by Aaliyah Nye at sixteenth in the conference and averaging 13.79 points per game for the Tide.
ALABAMA (20-8, 7-6 SEC):
* Date: Thursday, Feb. 29
* Time: 7 p.m.
* Site: Coleman Coliseum
* Stream: SECN+
* Radio: ESPN Gainesville 98.1 FM / 850 AM<https://floridagators.com/watch/?Live=5284>
* Stats: StatBroadcast<https://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=489368&vislive=fla>
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