The Gators were in the fight for the final 10 minutes of play but were unable to get past Auburn on their home court. Florida was led by Leilani Correa and Aliyah Matharu, both notching 20+ points.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Florida fell short to Auburn with a final score of 77-74 on Sunday afternoon. The Gators led the contest to start, but the Tigers picked up momentum to outscore Florida in the second and third quarters. The Gators were led by Leilani Correa<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-basketball/roster/leilani-correa/16027> with her first double-double of the season. Correa secured 23-points and 10 rebounds to finish her regular season out as a Gator.
Florida initiated their home contest with a strong offensive presence over Auburn. The Gators shot 47 percent from the field and were 6-of-6 from the free throw line. Florida’s largest lead of the first half was a seven-point margin at 22-15 going into the second quarter. In the next ten minutes of play, Auburn increased their action inside the paint securing 14 points. The score stood at 37-34 with Florida behind by one possession.
The Tigers held the lead over Florida for the entirety of the third quarter and outscored the Gators 27-20. Aliyah Matharu<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-basketball/roster/aliyah-matharu/16030> accounted for 11 of Florida’s third quarter points contributing to her game total of – points. Going into the final period of play the score stood at 64-54 with Florida down 10 to Auburn. Coming out for the fourth, the Gators went on a six-point run forcing Auburn to call a time out at 8:13. From there Florida continued to chip away at the Tigers lead getting the margin down to as low as one before Auburn closed out 77-74.
IN THE FIRST:
* Florida ended the first outscoring the Tigers 22-15
* Leilani Correa<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-basketball/roster/leilani-correa/16027> led on offense with five points
* Jeriah Warren<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-basketball/roster/jeriah-warren/16033> and Faith Dut<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-basketball/roster/faith-dut/16028> followed with four apiece
* The Gators forced seven turnovers on Auburn, converting for eight points
* Florida outrebounded the Tigers 9-8
* Florida secured seven of eight layup attempts
* 16 of the Gators points came from inside the paint
* Correa led on the boards with four rebounds-all defensive
* Alberte Rimdal<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-basketball/roster/alberte-rimdal/16032> snagged two steals for Florida, accounting for half of the first quarter total (4)
IN THE SECOND:
* Florida was led in scoring once more by Leilani Correa<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-basketball/roster/leilani-correa/16027> with six points
* Faith Dut<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-basketball/roster/faith-dut/16028> followed with four going 2-of-2 from the field
* Auburn outscored Florida 22-12 in the second
* Florida forced an additional five turnovers on Auburn to get their half total to 12
* The Gators finished out the second with eight bench points, six points in the paint, and six points off turnovers
* Auburn came back to even the score out at 24 all (6:58)
* Auburn then took their first lead (30-28) of the game since minute three of quarter one
* The Gators were down three at the end of the half (37-34)
IN THE THIRD:
* Florida notched 13 points in the first five minutes of the third
* Shooting 4-of-6 from the field to garner a 66.7%
* The Gators had back to back steals from Aliyah Matharu<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-basketball/roster/aliyah-matharu/16030> and Leilani Correa<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-basketball/roster/leilani-correa/16027> in the initial three minutes of the quarter
* Florida got Auburn’s lead down to as low as one point in the third (50-49)
* The Gators snagged four steals and forced five turnovers on the Tigers
* Matharu led on offense with 11 of Florida’s 20 points in the third
* Florida totaled 12 points in the paint, had six off Auburn turnovers, and two from second chances
* The Gators were down by 10-points at the end of the third (64-54)
IN THE FOURTH:
* The Gators added 20 more points to their game total of 74 in the fourth
* Aliyah Matharu<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-basketball/roster/aliyah-matharu/16030> led Florida in scoring with nine points
* Seven of those came from the free throw line
* The game was a one possession contest for upwards of five minutes in the fourth
* The Gators totaled 11 rebounds in the fourth-their game high
* Florida forced an additional seven turnovers on the Tigers and capitalized for eight points
* In the fourth, Florida saw the free throw line ten times, tallying a point for each to yield a 100 percent
* Florida had the game within one point on three different occasions in the fourth, but were unable to take the lead
WORTH NOTING:
* Leilani Correa<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-basketball/roster/leilani-correa/16027> recorded her first double-double of the season with 23 points and 10 rebounds
* Correa grabbed her season high in rebounds with 10
* The Gators had two players in double-figures for scoring
* Aliyah Matharu<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-basketball/roster/aliyah-matharu/16030> (22)
* Correa (23)
* Correa secured her 24th double-digit game of the season
* With 23 points it also marks her tenth 20+ point game
* Faith Dut<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-basketball/roster/faith-dut/16028> had two blocks to bring her season total to 27
* Matharu had four steals bringing her season total to 73
* Eriny Kindred<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-basketball/roster/eriny-kindred/16214> was 100 percent from the field (1-1) and charity stripe (3-3)
* The Gators totaled 44 points in the paint and 28 points off turnovers
* Florida closed out with 21 layups and 23 fast break points
* The Gators snagged a game total of 13 steals
* Florida and Auburn were even at 31 rebounds each
TEAM RECORDS:
Florida: 14-14 (5-11 SEC)
Auburn: 19-10 (8-8 SEC)
SERIES RECORD:
The current series between Florida and Auburn stands at 31-24, with the Tigers ahead by seven victories.
NEXT UP:
Florida will travel to Greenville, South Carolina for the 2024 SEC tournament this week. The Gators are currently projected to play on Wednesday at 1:30 p.m. as the eleventh seed. The final seeds and post season draw will be announced Sunday evening with additional information available here.<https://www.secsports.com/article/10971306/championship-women-basketball>
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