A strong third quarter propelled Florida past Georgia Tech in the ACC/SEC Women’s Challenge Wednesday, 68-58. The Gators improved to 6-1 on the season while the Yellow Jackets fell to 5-2.
The start was ominous enough as neither team managed to score for more than two minutes before Tech’s Kayla Blackshear finally made a jumper to open the scoring. The first quarter was mostly back and forth but the Jackets did manage to build a seven point lead with 1:23 left. A pair of layups by Ra Shaya Kyle closed the gap to 17-14 by the end of the period.
The Gators evened the score at 17 quickly into the second on a pair of made free throws by Kyle. Despite a low-scoring quarter, Florida found themselves behind by five to seven for most of the period before closing to within one at 28-27 following a Leilani Correa layup with just over a minute remaining.
The Florida offense erupted out of the halftime break. The Gators made 10-17 shots, including 3-7 from deep, in the quarter and took a one point deficit and turned it into a nine point advantage heading into the final frame.
The Gators maintained their lead throughout the fourth quarter, seeing it drop to as little as five, but growing to as much as twelve in the final minutes of play.
The Gators were led by freshman Laila Reynolds with 18 points. Kyle added 14 points and 14 rebounds for her third double-double of the season. Aliyah Matharu added 12 points and Alberte Rimdal chipped in ten.
Florida shot just 41% for the game, but limited the Yellow Jackets to 37%.
The Gators are back in action Saturday in Huntington, WV against Marshall. Tip-off is scheduled for 1:00 PM.
The Thurdering Herd are 2-3 overall and will take on Morehead State prior to Saturday’s contest with Florida.
ChompTalk.com 
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