Third-Quarter Surge Fuels Florida Women’s Basketball Past Auburn
Florida women’s basketball leaned on a strong defensive effort and a decisive third-quarter surge to defeat Auburn 61-53 Thursday night at the O’Dome. The Gators earned their second SEC win of the season.
The Gators improved to 14-11 overall and 2-8 in conference play, while Auburn fell to 13-11 overall and 2-8 in the SEC. Both of Florida’s league wins this season have come against Tigers, first with a victory against Missouri and now against Auburn.
With athletic director Scott Stricklin in attendance and the Gators wearing pink for breast cancer awareness, Florida flipped the script from its January loss at Auburn, where it fell 60-50, by taking control in the second half.
Florida struggled early, scoring just seven points in the opening quarter and trailing by as many as seven before going into the break down 26-25. After last week’s historically brutal stretch against No. 6 LSU, No. 4 Texas and No. 5 Vanderbilt where early leads slipped away, this time the Gators responded differently, starting slow before surging out of the locker room against Auburn.
“That’s been a big thing for us in practice, just third-quarter, second-half defense, keeping it on them,” junior guard Laila Reynolds said. “We did that.”
Florida opened the second half on a 7-0 run and outscored the Tigers 22-12 in the third quarter, a stretch that swung the game. The Gators shot 8-of-14 from the field in that period while holding Auburn to 5-of-17.
“We were composed, we were connected and we executed our game plan,” Florida coach Kelly Rae Finley said.
Defense made the difference throughout the night. Florida held Auburn to 15 points or fewer in every quarter and limited the Tigers to 36.8-percent shooting.
“I thought it was one of our better games defensively, especially in the second half, guarding one-on-one, keeping people in front, communicating,” Finley said.
Florida was sharper with the ball than it had been in recent weeks, committing only 16 turnovers after averaging more than 20 during its three-game stretch against top-six opponents. That improvement mattered against an Auburn team that thrives on pressure and ranks second in the SEC in steals per game. Florida won the turnover battle 18-16.
Florida also turned around another area that has been a point of emphasis after recent struggles by controlling the interior, winning the rebounding battle 38-34 and outscoring the Tigers 30-26 in the paint.
“When you crash the offensive glass, you have to pursue the ball,” Finley said. “I thought our effort was there and our forwards made the adjustment.”
Me’Arah O’Neal led the way with her seventh double-double of the season, finishing with 16 points and a career-high 12 rebounds on 5-of-9 shooting, including two made 3-pointers. She scored nine of her 16 points during Florida’s explosive third quarter.
“Getting on the boards on both ends really got me going,” O’Neal said. “I love to shoot the three. That gets me excited.”
Laila Reynolds scored a team-high 17 points after managing just one point earlier this season in the first meeting with Auburn.
“She’s sick of losing,” Finley said. “Your character is how you respond when things don’t go your way, and this team has chosen to respond together with toughness and determination.”
Liv McGill added 13 points, five rebounds and five assists, extending her double-digit scoring streak to 25 straight games. Freshman Nyadieng Yiech chipped in nine points off the bench. Auburn junior guard Ja’Mia Harris led her team with 18 points, the Tigers’ lone double-digit scoring effort of the night.
Florida will try to keep its momentum going Sunday when it returns to the O’Connell Center to face the Arkansas Razorbacks (11-13), a team that remains winless in SEC play at 0-9, at noon (SEC Network).
Category: Feature Sports News, Gator Sports, Gators Women's Basketball, SEC, University of Florida, Women's College Basketball
