A three-point barrage pushed Towson over Florida in the Preseason WNIT opener.
RALEIGH, N.C. – In the opening game of the Preseason WNIT, Florida women’s basketball fell to a scorching Towson team, 87-70, after the Tigers finished an efficient 12-of-19 from long range.
Jordyn Merritt led the way for the Gators (1-1, 0-0 SEC), posting a double-double with 18 points and 11 rebounds while senior Kristina Moore added 12 off of the bench and Zippy Broughton ended her night with 10 points and six rebounds.
From the field, Florida shot 25-of-71 (35.2%) and 10-of-24 (41.7%) from deep. Towson (2-0, 0-0 CAA) shot 27-of-68 (39.7%) from the floor, with 12 of their makes coming from behind the three-point line. Aleah Nelson led the Tigers with 39 points, eight rebounds and eight assists.
In a bright spot for the Gators, UF held the advantage down low, outrebounding Towson 48-47 in addition to outscoring the opposition in the paint, 20-18. Florida also tallied four blocks, including three from Merritt.
In a game in which Florida never led, Towson opened on a 21-3 run in the first quarter, taking a commanding lead right away to hold a 37-20 lead at the end of one. Despite the slow start, the Gators wouldn’t go away, pulling within 13 points during the third quarter behind back-to-back layups from Moore.
Continuing to battle into the fourth, the Blue & Orange used a Lavender Briggs jumper to close the gap to just 11 early in the final frame, but a Ryan Evans triple extended the lead right back. Freshman Alberte Rimdal did manage to answer with a three of her own before a quick 4-0 spurt from the Tigers would open up the game for good.
Florida is back in action on Sunday, Nov. 14 when they take-on No. 5/4 North Carolina State in the second game of the Preseason WNIT.
Postgame Bites
– Jordyn Merritt’s 18 points and 11 rebounds marked the second double-double of her career.
– Moore’s 12 points were just one shy of her career-high of 13 against Villanova in the WNIT last season.
– Both of the Wyche sisters scored in the same game for the first time in their career.
– Florida assisted on 16 of their 25 made shots in Friday’s game.
Quoteables
Head Coach Kelly Rae Finley
On starting quicker and bouncing back…
“Our starts are something that we’re focusing on and that first quarter was tough for us. Towson did a great job of executing their gameplan and we were hesitant because of it. They’re a very talented team. We are focused on continuing to improve every day.”
FOLLOW THE GATORS
SOCIAL: Twitter<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__twitter.com_Gatorswtn&d=DwIFAg&c=sJ6xIWYx-zLMB3EPkvcnVg&r=o5LKAX7slotfFMyE71jI7L22NYBIi1-KbRGNSXudTPo&m=uiS0qRlM6vdxD8mQ-rD4cIyQvvPAHZ-ssP98-plezxX9wMh4GWExH88BnMLwqB0b&s=_ZxCPeULCEP0qnrtoeAUnXnZaD7_8Mmi46B7Yw4skdU&e= > | Facebook<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.facebook.com_GatorsTN&d=DwIFAg&c=sJ6xIWYx-zLMB3EPkvcnVg&r=o5LKAX7slotfFMyE71jI7L22NYBIi1-KbRGNSXudTPo&m=uiS0qRlM6vdxD8mQ-rD4cIyQvvPAHZ-ssP98-plezxX9wMh4GWExH88BnMLwqB0b&s=pFx6YRoFujQkY99hY7vWWN1d81W-N6fQyP8M29AiJqU&e= > | Instagram<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.instagram.com_gatorswtn_-3Fhl-3Den&d=DwIFAg&c=sJ6xIWYx-zLMB3EPkvcnVg&r=o5LKAX7slotfFMyE71jI7L22NYBIi1-KbRGNSXudTPo&m=uiS0qRlM6vdxD8mQ-rD4cIyQvvPAHZ-ssP98-plezxX9wMh4GWExH88BnMLwqB0b&s=I_1q6ezeFjAUR7NIgAbmc7Ncl0NjOqD00A_uJxvyKjY&e= >
JOIN THE CONVERSATION: #GoGators
