The Gators defeat Winthrop in their final game of 2023 with Ra Shaya Kyle securing her seventh double-double of the season.
GAINESVILLE, Fla.- The Gators returned home Saturday afternoon defeating Winthrop 73 to 36 at the O’Dome. Florida was led in scoring by Aliyah Matharu with 12 points, followed by Leilani Correa with 11. On the boards, Ra Shaya Kyle led the Gators with 11 of the team’s 35 rebounds.
Florida held the lead over Winthrop for the entirety of the game. The Gators secured 27 points in the first quarter, followed by 23 in the second, giving them a 35-point lead at half. Florida was shooting over 50-percent from the field in all four quarters, and proved to be defensively strong with a total of 25 forced turnovers on the Eagles.
IN THE FIRST:
* The Gators secured 27 points in the first with scoring stretched across seven players
* Aliyah Matharu (5)
* Alberte Rimdal (5)
* Leilani Correa (4)
* Faith Dut (4)
* Ra Shaya Kyle (4)
* Kenza Salgues (3)
* Laila Reynolds (2)
* Florida finished the quarter shooting 61.1 percent from the field (11-of-18)
* Correa grabbed two steals for the Gators adding to their quarter total of three
* The Gators forced eight turnovers on the Eagles to convert for 12 points
IN THE SECOND:
* Florida proved strong on defense holding Winthrop to only four points
* The Gators secured five steals, their most of the game
* Alexia Dizeko led the Gators in scoring for the first time this season with six points in the second
* Florida forced 10 opponent turnovers on the Eagles to gain 14 points
* The Gators ended the first half with 22 points in the paint and 18 points from the bench
* Florida finished the half shooting 55.9 percent from the field going 19-of-34
IN THE THIRD:
* The Gators secured 10 rebounds in the third- their most of the game
* Ra Shaya Kyle led Florida on the boards with four rebounds in the third
* Florida was shooting 50 percent from the field and 100 percent from the line
* Leilani Correa and Kyle led on offense with four points a piece
* Florida recorded 10 points in the paint during the third quarter
IN THE FOURTH:
* The Gators secured seven bench points in the fourth and were led in scoring by Jeriah Warren
* Eriny Kindred grabbed two of the Gators eight rebounds in the final quarter
* Florida forced an additional six turnovers on the Eagles
* The Gators were 100 percent from the free throw line in the second half of the game
WORTH NOTING.
* Alexia Dizeko set her career high in scoring as a Gator with six points- all secured in the second quarter
* Florida had three players in double figures for scoring
* Matharu (12)
* Correa (11)
* Kyle (10)
* Ra Shaya Kyle secured her seventh double-double of the season with 10 points and 11 rebounds
* The Gators forced a total of 25 turnovers on Winthrop
* Florida finished out the game shooting 51.9 percent from the field
BACK AT THE O’DOME
Florida returned to the Stephen C. O’Connell Center to host Winthrop after playing all of December on the road. The Gators went over a month without a home contest and will remain in Gainesville for their next contest on Jan. 4, against South Carolina.
KELLY RAE FINLEY SAID:
UF coach Kelly Rae Finley<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-basketball/roster/coaches/kelly-rae-finley/1658> on finishing out conference play:
“I am really proud of how we finished out non-conference play. I think we have made some big improvements with our mindset, our approach to what we are doing, and I think we have made a lot of progress on what we are doing on both ends of the floor. We are playing free, we are making multiple efforts, and we do a great job of playing off each other and that’s something that you need to be able to do to be successful in the SEC.”
SENIOR CENTER RA SHAYA KYLE SAID:
Senior center Ra Shaya Kyle on what she is looking forward to in conference play:
“I am looking forward to the physicality, because I just know it’s going to be very very physical and I know my team has worked really hard and we have prepared each and every day in practice on that specifically. I mean these non-conference teams have been pretty physical too, we just know it’s only going to get harder.”
SERIES RECORD
With Florida’s home win over Winthrop, the all-time series now stands at 2-0.
NEXT UP
The Gators will return to the Exactech Arena on Thursday to open SEC play against the South Carolina Gamecocks, the number one team in the country.
South Carolina is currently first in the nation with an undefeated 11-0 record. The Gamecocks will be traveling to Gainesville with their last time out being a 73-36 win over Eastern Carolina.
Overall, South Carolina is led by Kamilla Cardoso with an average of 13.9 points and 10.1 rebounds a game. The Gamecocks also have three other players averaging in double figures for scoring.
SOUTH CAROLINA:
* Date: Thursday, Jan. 4
* Time: 7 p.m.
* Site: Exactech Arena at Stephen C. O’Connell Center<https://floridagators.com/facilities/?id=2>
* Stream: SECN<https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/id/0921297e-b332-43ca-8ab9-6142ddb56cd4>
* Radio: ESPN Gainesville 98.1 FM / 850 AM<https://www.wruf.com/listen-live/>
* Stats: StatBroadcast<https://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=490548>
* Tickets<https://am.ticketmaster.com/gators/ism/V0IyMzA2>
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