The Florida Gators women’s basketball team is now 0-5 in conference play after falling to Arkansas 84-80 on Thursday in Fayetteville. The Gators have opened league play facing four teams ranked in the Top-25 in addition to an 11-1 Georgia squad.
The Gators were led by an incredible effort from guards Lavender Briggs and Kiki Smith, but failed to get much contribution from anyone else on the floor.
Briggs, a sophomore from Provo, Utah, scored a career-high 41 points on 17-29 shooting from the floor. Briggs kept the Gators in striking distance in the second half, putting up 26 after the break.
The 41 points are the fourth highest output in a single game in program history and is the highest since Ronni Williams scored 43 in January 2017.
Smith, the senior leader of the team, finished with 21 points, 5 assists, and 3 rebounds. Smith also made 9-11 from the charity stripe. Smith did most of her damage in the first half, scoring 17 before intermission.
While the Florida offense was finding the basket, the Gators had no answer to Chelsea Dungee. The redshirt-senior led the Arkansas attack with 33 points and knocked down all 17 shots from the free throw line.
Florida’s next two opponents are also winless in conference play. The Gators will face Auburn (5-6, 0-3) on Sunday and Vanderbilt (4-3, 0-2) in Nashville on Thursday January 21.