UF WBK: Gators Dominate FAMU in Late-Night Matchup

Gators Dominate FAMU in Late-Night Matchup
With four players hitting double figures in scoring, the Gators defeat Florida A&M 92-54. Florida was led by Aliyah Matharu with 22 points, followed by Laila Reynolds grabbing her first 20-point game.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Florida women’s basketball defeated Florida A&M 92-54 in tonight’s home contest. The Gators remain undefeated in non-conference play thus far in the 2023-24 season owning a 3-0 record.

GATORS OPENING UP WITH THREE WINS
This is the 10th time Florida’s opened with a 3-0 record.
Other seasons UF opened with three consecutive wins: 1983-84, 1984-85, 1990-91, 1995-96, 1997-98, 2000-01, 2002-03, 2016-17 and 2019-20.

SERIES RECORD
Florida leads the series with Florida A&M 12-5. This is UF’s fifth consecutive win versus the Rattlers.

NON-CONFERENCE DOMINANCE
Dating back to the 2019-20 season, Florida is currently on a 25-game home winning streak during non-conference competition. This marks the second-longest streak in school history. The Gators last non-conference defeat at Exactech Arena was on Nov. 26, 2019, when Florida State defeated UF 66-55.

IN THE FIRST:

  *   Aliyah Matharu collected back to back driving layups drawing fouls on both to give the Gators additional scoring opportunities early in the game
  *   Florida ended the first quarter with 18 field goal attempts
  *   The only quarter the Rattlers out-rebounded Florida was in the first (14 to 10)
  *   The Gators totaled four steals and forced six turnovers
  *   Florida held possession for eight of the first 10 minutes
IN THE SECOND:

  *   Faith Dut hit her first three pointer of the season
  *   Aliyah Matharu turned in seven points and three rebounds in the second quarter to finish the half leading all players with 19 points and five rebounds
  *   Florida forced eight turnovers to convert for 10 points
  *    The Gators’ second quarter 28 points were spread across seven players
     *   Aliyah Matharu (7)
     *   Ra Shaya Kyle (6)
     *   Laila Reynolds (4)
     *   Jeriah Warren (4)
     *   Faith Dut (3)
     *   Leilani Corrrea and Eriny Kindred, (2)
  *   Florida finished the quarter shooting 63% from the field going 10-of-16
IN THE THIRD:

  *   The Gators grabbed a game high 15 rebounds to start the second half. That included five different Gators with two or more rebounds
  *   Ra Shaya Kyle led the Gators in the third quarter with seven points
  *   Florida outrebounded the Rattlers 15 to nine
IN THE FOURTH:

  *   Leilani Correa started the final quarter with her fourth three pointer of the game
  *   Florida finished with a game high 64 percent from the field (9-of-14)
  *   Laila Reynolds led the Gators with six points off of three shots- hitting all in the final three minutes of the game
WORTH NOTING.

  *   This was the second consecutive game Aliyah Matharu led UF in scoring with 22 points. Matharu had 25 points on Nov. 9 versus Bethune-Cookman
  *   The Gators had three other players in double figures for scoring
     *   Laila Reynolds (20)
     *   Ra Shaya Kyle (15)
     *   Leilani Correa (14)
  *   The Gators scored more than 20 points in every quarter of the game ma
  *   Tonight’s 92 points is Florida’s season high (previous high was 83 on Nov. 9 versus Bethune-Cookman)

THEY SAID IT

UF guard Laila Reynolds on her increased confidence on the court:
“I’ve started to get really comfortable on the court and that’s because of my teammates helping me out. Being able to get this type of confidence is something I have been working on at practice and also just being able to push myself to better the team has always been my motivation to work harder.”

UF guard Aliyah Matharu on her performance tonight:
“We’ve been doing a lot of focusing on getting everybody involved in the paint and outside of the paint. With me not playing for a year I’m pretty hungry on both ends of the ball, but I mean, it’s clicking for me. It’s working for me. My teammates are finding me I’m trying to find them and do my best with that. I’m also in a new position so just getting different looks and getting comfortable with them has made a big difference.”

UF coach Kelly Rae Finley<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-basketball/roster/coaches/kelly-rae-finley/1658> on playing Florida State next:
“We know who we are and we’re very confident in our abilities. I love the team that we have, and we will prepare just as we do with every opponent. There’s not one game that is bigger than another.”

NEXT UP
The Gators close their season-opening four game home stand Friday versus No. 12 Florida State. It is the opening game of a women’s – men’s UF-FSU doubleheader. The Seminoles come into Friday’s game with a 2-0 record, claiming a 92-91 home win versus then No. 11 Tennessee in their last game on Nov. 9.

No. 12 Florida State

  *   Date: Friday, Nov. 17
  *   Time: 4 p.m. ET
  *   Site: Exactech Arena at Stephen C. O’Connell Center<https://floridagators.com/sports/2020/4/4/exactech-arena-stephen-c-oconnell-center.aspx>
  *   Stream:
SEC Network +<https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/id/fc5c7e9b-0763-4a92-b4b5-ecd91b6ad5e4>
  *   Radio: ESPN Gainesville 98.1 FM / 850 AM<https://www.wruf.com/listen-live/>
  *   Stats: StatBroadcast<https://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=490546>
  *   Tickets<https://am.ticketmaster.com/gators/ism/TUIyMzAz>
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