KK Deans led the Gators with 28 points and nine assists on Wednesday night.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Florida women’s basketball fell to No. 23/18 Oklahoma on Wednesday night inside the Spectrum Center at the Jumpman Invitational, 95-79.
KK Deans led the Gators (11-2, 0-0 SEC) with an impressive 28 points, including seven made threes, to go along with a career-best nine assists. Ra Shaya Kyle earned her fifth double-double of her career, ending with 16 points and 13 rebounds while Nina Rickards put up 15 points.
For the game, the Gators shot 26-of-63 (41.3%) from the field and 11-of-26 (42.3%) from behind the line. Oklahoma (10-1, 0-0 Big 12) shot 36-of-84 (42.9%) from the floor and 12-of-28 (42.9%) from deep. The Gators did have the advantage at the charity stripe, ending 16-of-21 (76.2%) compared to the Sooners’ 11-of-16 (68.8%) effort. Rickards was six-of-seven for UF.
The Sooners kept the Gators off of the scoreboard for just over the first three minutes of the game, opening up a 7-0 lead during the spurt. Rickards ended the scoring drought for the Orange & Blue with a baseline jumper, but back-to-back triples from Oklahoma extended their lead to 13-2. The Sooners took a 21-9 lead into the second quarter.
Oklahoma used a 10-2 run to take a 31-11 lead with 7:38 left in the second quarter to pull-away from the Gators, not allowing UF back within 19 in the first half before taking a 43-23 lead into halftime.
Florida trailed by as many as 27 in the third quarter, but that didn’t stop the fight from UF, using an 11-4 run that was capped off by a Kyle lay-in with 2:36 left in the quarter to pull back within 15 at 63-48. A 6-0 run to end the quarter from the Sooners would give them a 69-49 lead en route to a 95-79 victory for Oklahoma.
The Gators put up a season-best 56 points in the second half, outscoring the Sooners 56-52 over the final 20 minutes while shooting an impressive 9-of-15 from deep, five of which came from Deans.
Up Next
After the winter recess, the Gators are slated to open Southeastern Conference play on Thursday, Dec. 29 at 6 p.m. ET when the Tennessee Lady Volunteers visit Exactech Arena inside the Stephen C. O’Connell Center. The game will be streamed live on SEC Network+.
Notables
– Oklahoma and Florida are now tied, 1-1, in the all-time series history.
– Ra Shaya Kyle recorded her fifth career double-double, ending with 16 points and 13 rebounds.
– KK Deans recorded a career-best nine assists and season-high 28 points.
– The Gators end the nonconference with 11 victories, the most since the 2015-16 campaign when they ended with 12.
– With 28 points KK Deans continues to inch closer to her 1,000th-career point, currently sitting at 976.
– #GoGators –
