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Final: Florida 88, FAU 76

Led by a career-high 27 points from senior point guard Kiki Smith, the Florida Gators defeated Florida Atlantic 88-76 on Monday. The win moved the Gators to 4-1 on the season and a 4-0 mark at home inside Exactech Arena.

Both teams struggled to find the basket in the first quarter, but the Gators turned it up in the second quarter, knocking down 11-22 from the floor. Florida took a 15-point advantage into the locker room for halftime.

FAU’s Iggy Allen wouldn’t let her team go down without a fight. The talented transfer from Miami led the Owls with 24 points and nine rebounds. But the Gators were too much.

Smith finished with a game high (career high) 27 points and 11 rebounds. Sophomore Lavender Briggs added 14 and 10, which included her 500th career point. Briggs is the fastest player in program history to reach 500 points.

Yasmeen Chang added eleven points off the bench.

Sophomore Nina Rickards and freshman Jordyn Merritt each added eight points to the ledger.

UF Team Stats:

• FG% – 42% (32-76)
• 3FG% – 29% (5-17)
• FT% – 73% (19-26)
• Rebounds – 45
• O Rebounds – 18
• Reb Margin – +3
• Assists – 10
• Steals – 7
• Turnovers – 10

Player Stats:

• Smith – 27 p, 11 r, 8-10 FT
• Briggs – 14 p, 10 r, 3 a
• Chang – 11 p, 3 r, 5-8 FG
• Merritt – 8 p, 5 off. reb.

What’s Next:

The Gators will look to improve to 5-1 with a road contest against UNC-Asheville on Wednesday. The Bulldogs are 1-2 on the season. The game is scheduled to tip off at 4:00 PM.