The Gators played the ranked Seminoles right to the end with four players hitting double figures in scoring. Florida was led by Leilani Correa and Ra Shaya Kyle with 16 points each.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Florida women’s basketball was edged by No. 12 Florida State 75-79 Friday afternoon at the Exactech Arena. It was Florida’s first loss of the early season and the Seminoles were the Gators first ranked opponent.
Florida took a one-point lead at halftime and pushed that to a nine-point margin early in the fourth quarter. The Seminoles whittled away at that lead, tying the game with two minutes remaining. After that, Florida State never trailed again. FSU’s Ta’Niya Latson led all with 35 points. Florida played the Seminoles right to the end with four players contributing double digit points, including Ra Shaya Kyle and Leilani Correa with 16 each.
IN THE FIRST:
* Laila Reynolds’ three-point shot with four minutes left triggered a 12-point Gator surge to end the quarter.
* Florida shot 60 percent from the field going 9-of-15
* The Gators held FSU to a 36.8 field goal percentage, only allowing them to land seven of their 19 attempts
* Florida was led in scoring by Reynolds and Kyle with six points apiece
IN THE SECOND:
* Jeriah Warren held strong on the boards for Florida with back-to-back rebounds, collecting four in the second
* The only blocks of second quarter came from the Gators (6)
* Aliyah Matharu’s three-pointer with 10 second remaining gave the Gators a one-point halftime lead (36-35)
* The Gators held Florida State to a field goal percentage of 27.3 (6 of 22)
IN THE THIRD:
* The Gators pushed their one-point halftime lead to five (40-35) within the opening minute
* Florida’s 16 rebounds in the third was the game high across both teams
* The Gators finished the quarter leading the Seminoles 56-49
IN THE FOURTH:
* Florida had their biggest lead of the game in the fourth with a nine-point margin (58-49) at 9:49
* FSU’s shots began to fall, posting its game-high field goal percentage of 81.8 percent in the fourth
* FSU tied the game with two minutes left to play. The Gators couldn’t get closer than a one-point margin in the closing two minutes.
WORTH NOTING.
* The Gators turned in their season high blocks total (7)
* Faith Dut grabbed her season high with three
* Florida had a higher field goal percentage than FSU in every quarter but the fourth
* Jeriah Warren set her career high in rebounds, recording eight
* Florida outrebounded FSU 46-43
* Four Gators hit for double-digit points tonight. Florida has opened the season with at least three players in double figures for scoring in each game
* Leilani Correa (16)
* Ra Shaya Kyle (16)
* Aliyah Matharu (15)
* Alberte Rimdal (13)
NON-CONFERENCE STREAK END
Florida State ended the Gators 25 home game winning streak during non-conference competition. The record dated back to the 2019-20 season which was the second-longest streak in school history.
KELLY RAE FINLEY SAID:
UF coach Kelly Rae Finley<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-basketball/roster/coaches/kelly-rae-finley/1658> on the results of playing No.12 ranked Florida State:
“We’re not here for the consolation prize. We don’t believe in that. But I know our team and I know that we are resilient. We’re tough. And this sounds funny, but this loss is only going to make us that much better. It’s going to make us hungrier. And I think we’ve got a tremendous season ahead of us.”
On the pace of tonight’s game:
“We knew their best punch is going to be the first punch. Not sure too many teams have held them in the 20s. I think they were averaging 36 points in the first quarter alone. I was extremely impressed with our ability to make the adjustments early right after a quick early timeout or a stop to reset. Now we got it and understanding the pace. We played at our pace all night. That’s the pace that we like to play at. And that was one of our goals.”
SERIES RECORD
Florida still leads the all-time series with Florida State 42-35.
NEXT UP
The Gators start a seven-game road stretch Monday in the Bahamas. Florida begins play at the Baha Mar Hoops Pink Flamingo Championship versus Purdue and then closes tournament play Wednesday versus Columbia.
Purdue (2-1, 0-0 Big Ten) defeated Texas A&M 72-58 Thursday in home action.
Columbia (2-2, 0-0 Ivy) defeated Towson 80-57 Thursday to close a three-game home stretch.
Purdue
* Date: Monday, Nov. 20
* Time: 4 p.m. ET
* Site: Baha Mar Convention, Arts & Entertainment Center<https://bahamarhoops.ticketsocket.com/event/baha-mar-hoops-pink-flamingo—tickets>
* Stream: FloHoops<https://www.flohoops.com/signup?redirect=%2Flive%2F80562&utm_campaign=320282womensbahamarho&utm_medium=partner&utm_source=participatingteams&utm_content=signup&contract_id=0063m00000lkuvgaa0&coverage_id=11236879>
* Radio: ESPN Gainesville 98.1 FM / 850 AM<https://www.wruf.com/listen-live/>
* Stats: StatBroadcast<https://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=482609&vislive=fla>
* Tickets<https://bahamarhoops.ticketsocket.com/event/baha-mar-hoops-pink-flamingo—tickets>
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