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FINAL: VANDERBILT 73, FLORIDA 71

NASHVILLE, TN- The Florida Gators finished the regular season in disappointing fashion by blowing a 12-point second half lead to the Vanderbilt Commodores on Saturday.  Florida led 54-42 with 12:06 left to play, but went ice cold the remainder of the game as the Commodores mounted their comeback.

Florida limited Vanderbilt (the best 3-point shooting team in the SEC) to connect on just five of twenty two attempts from long range, but still found a way to lose.  Florida’s senior point guard Kasey Hill missed a layup with six seconds left to seal the win for Vandy.  Hill also missed a layup with 1:18 left in regulation.

Noticeably, Florida head coach Mike White chose to play small against a perimeter-based team like Vandy.  Kevarrius Hayes played just ten minutes in the game.  Vanderbilt big man Luke Kornet finished with 24 points against much smaller players Keith Stone, and Justin Leon.  Hayes had picked up two fouls but also had four rebounds in the limited action.

Florida was led by Canyon Barry who scored 15 points in 25 minutes off the bench.  Barry, however was absent for the final few minutes of play.  Kevaughn Allen scored 13 points (all in the first half) and Chris Chiozza added 11 more.  Hill finished with 10 points and 5 rebounds, but also committed five turnovers.

Although Kornet let the Commodores in scoring, the comeback could not have happened had Riley LaChance not taken over late in the second half.  LaChance scored 13 points, grabbed five rebounds and assisted on 4 other baskets.  LaChance also made a layup with 1:35 that put Vanderbilt on top for the remainder of the game.

Florida heads into the SEC Tournament losers of two of their last three.  This game is the real head-scratcher as Florida blew a big lead to an inferior opponent.  Are we witnessing a late season collapse much like last season?  Or will Mike White and company figure it out.  We will know more at this time next week.

Florida will be the number two seed in the tournament in Nashville, meaning they will receive a double-bye into the quarterfinals on Friday.  Vanderbilt plays on Thursday and with a win would face Florida in the quarterfinals.
ATTENDANCE:  10,431

RECORDS:

• FLORIDA:                             24-7    (14-4 SEC)
• VANDERBILT:                    17-14  (10-8 SEC)

Team Stats:

What’s Next:

THE FLORIDA GATORS HAVE EARNED A DOUBLE-BYE IN THE SEC TOURNAMENT IN NASHVILLE ON FRIDAY.  STAY POSTED.

FINAL: TEXAS A&M 67, FLORIDA 48

GREENVILLE, SC-  The season has ended for the Florida Gators women’s basketball team.  The Gators fell in the second round of the SEC Tournament against Texas A&M.  The loss ended the college careers of seniors Tyshara Fleming and Ronni Williams.

Williams finished the night with 18 points.  Fleming scored 6.  Florida found themselves on top heading into half after Texas A&M struggled to score.  The Aggies went more than five minutes into the first quarter without scoring a basket, and didn’t score for almost seven minutes in the second quarter.  Florida was unable to take a big lead as they were missing most of their offensive looks as well.  Texas A&M seized control of the game in the third quarter and never faltered in the second half.

Williams led the Gators, but freshman Delicia Washington scored ten more points.  Only five of the nine Gator players scored.

Texas A&M was led by Khaalia Hillsman, who scored 24 points and grabbed 11 rebounds.

The season is now over for Florida as a 15-16 record will not qualify for any post-season play.

TEAM STATS:

WHAT’S NEXT:

THE WNBA DRAFT

APRIL 13, 2017

7PM (Williams is projected to be a second round selection)

(Photo Courtesy of SEC NETWORK)

FINAL: FLORIDA 71, ARKANSAS 61

GREENVILLE, SC-  At this time of year only two words matter.  Survive and Advance.  That’s exactly what Florida did against the Arkansas Razorbacks in the opening round of the SEC women’s basketball tournament.

Senior Ronni Williams, who earlier in the week was named First Team All-SEC led the Gators with a double-double.  Williams finished with 23 points and 12 rebounds.  Florida out-rebounded the Razorbacks 50-32.  Florida also shot the ball at a 44% clip compared to just 35% for Arkansas.  Dyandria Anderson added 19 points and 9 rebounds.  Freshman Delicia Washington added 11 points and 9 rebounds.

Jessica Jackson was the only scorer for Arkansas to finish in double-digits with ten points.

Florida heads to the second round of the SEC Tournament and will face the six seed Texas A&M at 8:30 PM on Thursday.  Texas A&M finished the regular season 19-10 and 9-7 in the SEC.  Texas A&M defeated Florida twice in the regular season winning 67-59 in Gainesville, and 84-76 in College Station.

TEAM STATS:

WHAT’S NEXT:

FLORIDA VS TEXAS A&M

MARCH 2, 2017 at 8:30 PM

SEC NETWORK

FINAL: FLORIDA 78, ARKANSAS 65

GAINESVILLE, FL- The Florida Gators men’s basketball team needed to make a statement following their loss at Kentucky on Saturday.  Florida did just that against another NCAA tournament-bound team on Wednesday.  The Gators shot 51 percent from the field against Arkansas and made 10-23 from behind the three-point line.  Florida limited the Razorbacks to only 36 percent shooting.

Florida moves to 24-6 on the season and 14-3 in SEC play while Arkansas falls to 22-8 and 11-6 against the SEC.  Florida honored it’s four seniors in a ceremony before the game.  Those honored were: Schuyler Rimmer, Canyon Barry, Justin Leon, and Kasey Hill.  All four seniors were in the starting line-up, each player scored and were removed from the court in the final moments to a huge ovation.

Barry led Florida with 14 points while Hill, KeVaughn Allen, and Chris Chiozza all added 12 points.  Kevarrius Hayes scored 6 points, grabbed 8 rebounds, and blocked 3 shots, but found himself in foul trouble and played only 22 minutes.  All ten Gators that played made at least one field goal.

Arkansas was led by Jaylen Barford with 18 points and Moses Kingsley who added 17 more.

Florida was able to bounce back from a tough loss at Kentucky and beat a very good Arkansas team to earn their 24^th win of the year.  Florida will travel to Vanderbilt with an opportunity to avenge the only ugly loss of the year.  Vanderbilt beat Florida 68-66 back on January 21.

Florida has clinched the second seed in next week’s SEC tournament in Nashville.
ATTENDANCE:  10,978

RECORDS:

• ARKANSAS:                         22-8   (11-6 SEC)
• FLORIDA:                           24-6  (14-3 SEC)

Team Stats:

What’s Next:

FLORIDA GATORS at VANDERBILT COMMODORES

MARCH 4, 2017 at 2:00 PM

ESPN

On Monday, the Southeastern Conference announced their post-season awards for the 2016-17 women’s basketball season. Two Gators were among those honored. Senior Ronni Williams was named to the All-SEC First Team while freshman Delicia Washington was named the SEC co-freshman of the year and was named to the SEC All-Freshman team. 

Washington is the first Gator to earn the award for top freshman. Washington averaged 11.2 points and 5.4 rebounds for the year. Washington shares the award with Missouri’s Amber Smith. 

Williams became the first Florida player to lead the SEC in scoring, posting a 20.1 average in league play. Williams also led the Gators averaging 7.8 rebounds per game.  Williams is the 15th Gator to be named to the All-SEC first team. Williams is expected to be drafted in the WNBA Draft on April 13. 

FINAL: KENTUCKY 76, FLORIDA 66

LEXINGTON, KY- The Florida Gators entered Saturday’s contest with Kentucky tied atop the SEC standings.  For one half of play, the game was deadlocked.  However, the Wildcats would control most of the second half led by freshman Malik Monk who scored 33 points (30 in the second half).  With only two games remaining until the SEC Tournament Florida needs to win, and hope Kentucky loses for a chance at a regular season title.

The Gators were missing C John Egbunu, and it showed.  Kevarrius Hayes and Schuyler Rimmer were no match for Kentucky’s frontcourt.  Florida was outrebounded 48-30, and freshman Center Bam Adebayo scored 18 points and grabbed 15 rebounds for Kentucky.  Monk and Adebayo were the only Wildcats to score in double-figures.  Florida only shot 37% from the field while Kentucky shot the ball at a 45% clip.

Many fans across social media have complained about the officiating, and there were certainly some questionable calls.  Kentucky finished with 27 free-throw attempts compared to just 6 for Florida.  Florida was also called for nearly twice as many fouls as Kentucky (22-13).

Florida was led by KeVaughn Allen who scored 24 points including going 5-11 from 3-point range.  Justin Leon scored 13 points and was the only other double-figure scorer for the Gators.  Devin Robinson scored nine points and grabbed a team-high 11 rebounds.

Florida’s win streak is stopped at nine, but the most important part of the schedule is what is ahead.  On Wednesday, Florida will play Arkansas at the O’Dome with a pregame senior celebration to celebrate the careers of Canyon Barry, Kasey Hill, Justin Leon, and Schuyler Rimmer.  Florida will then wrap-up their regular season schedule with a game at Vanderbilt on Saturday.
ATTENDANCE:  24,431

RECORDS:

• FLORIDA:                            23-6  (13-3 SEC)
• KENTUCKY:                       24-5  (14-2 SEC)

Team Stats:

What’s Next:

FLORIDA GATORS vs ARKANSAS RAZORBACKS

MARCH 1, 2017 at 7:00 PM

ESPN2

 (Photo courtesy of CBS Sports)