The Florida Gators fell to the Florida State Seminoles 66-55 Tuesday night in the Sunshine Showdown. The Gators now sit at 4-2 on the season.
Highlights from tonight's game vs. FSU! đđâ¤ľď¸ pic.twitter.com/FlU788bljN
— Gators Womenâs Basketball (@GatorsWBK) November 27, 2019
Gators Show Fight
At one point in the first quarter, Florida trailed the Seminoles 21-8. Throughout the whole contest, the Noles led the way. However, the Gators continued to fight to keep themselves within arm’s reach.
FSU exploded for 25 points in the first quarter. They shot the ball 12-21 (57.1 percent). However, in the second and third quarters, the guests struggled to score the ball, allowing the Gators a chance to come back. In those two quarters, the Seminoles scored 21 total points on 9-28 (32.1 percent) from the field.
Meanwhile, Florida wasn’t shooting the ball particularly well either. Despite shooting 31.6 percent from the floor in both the second and third quarters, the Gators managed to cut what was once a 13-point deficit to just two points at several stages of the third quarter.
Heading into the fourth quarter, the score was 46-44 in FSU’s favor. However, much like in the opening quarter, Florida State found its shooting touch again. They outscored the Gators 20-11 to take the game.
Individual Stats
Kiki Smith scored 14 points to lead the team. After putting away 12 in the first half, she landed awkwardly early on in the second and missed most of the third quarter.
Zada Williams and Ariel Johnson both scored 12 points each. Williams secured a double-double with 11 total boards; five offensive and six defensive.
No one scored from the bench.
Positives
Although it wasn’t a great shooting display from the Gators, there are some positives that Coach Cam Newbauer can take from the game.
Florida only turned the ball over eight times. Heading into the game, the Gators averaged 17.4 turnovers per game.
In addition, the Gators kept it within two points for much of the game against a top-15 opponent while shooting just under 33 percent from the floor.
Hung tough. Fought hard.
Looking ahead to Sundayđ pic.twitter.com/FzCfdiGwqV
— Gators Womenâs Basketball (@GatorsWBK) November 27, 2019
What’s Next?
Florida’s next game is against Florida A&M on Sunday at 2 p.m. in Exactech Arena.
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