UF WBK: Gators will Seek First Conference Win in Knoxville

The Gators will head to Knoxville for a Thursday night contest against the Lady Volunteers. Florida’s third conference game of the season is set for a 7 p.m. tip and will be aired on SECN.

KNOXVILLE, TN.- Florida will get back on the road and head to Knoxville to face the Lady Vols in a Thursday night matchup. The game against Tennessee will mark the Gators third conference game of the 2023-24 season and their second straight road game.

The Gators and Lady Vols both hold an overall record of 9-5 and are looking to grab their tenth win of the season. The contest is set for 7 p.m. and will be aired on SECN with Christy Thomaskutty and Eric Frede on the call.

TENNESSEE (9-5, 2-0):

  *   Date: Thursday, Jan. 11
  *   Time: 7 p.m.
  *   Site: Food City Center
  *   Stream: SECN<https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/id/46339c0c-6e1f-4c15-a19e-58624861cb0d>
  *   Radio: ESPN Gainesville 98.1 FM / 850 AM<https://floridagators.com/watch/?Live=5274&type=Archive>
  *   Stats: StatBroadcast<https://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=493181&vislive=fla>
  *   Tickets<https://www.ticketmaster.com/tennessee-volunteers-womens-basketball-tickets/artist/848403?brand=tennessee&CAMEFROM=CFC_TBO_UTKWBB_WEB_UTSPORTS_LVHOOPS-SG>

THE SERIES:
Tennessee holds an overall record of 56-5 over the Gators dating back to their initial matchup in 1980. Tennessee has taken the last two matchups against Florida, putting the Gators on a two-game losing streak against the Lady Vols.

HISTORY:
Florida’s last victory over Tennessee was on Jan. 2, 2022, during Kelly Rae Finley’s interim year as head coach. Florida defeated the Lady Vols 84-59 to also mark their largest margin of victory over Tennessee in program history. The 25-point win in 2022 was led by Kiara “Kiki” Smith with a total of 25 points. The Gators last contest against the Lady Vols was on Jan. 19, 2023, where Florida fell 74-56, after being outscored in three of the four quarters.

FLORIDA’S LAST GAME:
The Gators most recent matchup took place Sunday afternoon in Nashville, resulting in a devastating 63-57 loss to Vanderbilt. Florida battled till the end with a 22-point outing from Leilani Correa, but the Gators couldn’t hold on after the Commodores saw the free throw line 24 times in the second half. With back-to-back SEC losses, Florida is hungrier than ever to claim their first conference win of the season as they head to Knoxville.

ABOUT TENNESSEE:
Tennessee has secured a strong start to SEC play with consecutive conference wins against Auburn and Kentucky. The Lady Vols most recently played the Wildcats and came out with an 87-69 home win after being tied up at 55 all in the third. Tennessee had two players with 20+ point games against Kentucky: Rickea Jackson (27), and Jewel Spear (21).

Rickea Jackson also leads the Lady Volunteers in scoring this season, averaging 21.2 points a game. Tennessee has four additional players averaging in double figures for the 2023-24 season: Karoline Striplin (11.7), Jewel Spear (11.4), Jasmine Powell (10.4), and Sara Puckett (10.3).

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