Florida Women’s Basketball Falls at No. 23 Georgia
In its final game of the regular season, Florida women’s basketball ran into an early punch it could not recover from.
Georgia’s Dani Carnegie scored the first eight points of the afternoon before the opening media timeout. That burst proved to be a sign of things to come in Florida’s (17-14, 5-11 SEC) 71-58 loss to No. 23 Georgia (22-9, 8-8) at Stegeman Coliseum. The Gators never led and trailed by as many as 24 in the second half.
The loss was not the only setback for Florida. Liv McGill’s 31-game double-digit scoring streak came to an end. The sophomore guard finished with eight points, five rebounds and nine assists, making just one field goal.
Lagging from the start, the Gators did not make a basket until the 1:41 mark of the first quarter, when Nyadieng “Nidi” Yiech drove for a layup. Florida managed just one made field goal in the opening period but showed more signs of life in the second quarter.
Emilija “Mills” Dakic hit back-to-back 3-pointers, and Alexia Dizeko scored off a steal to tie the game at 23 with just over four minutes left before halftime. Georgia answered with a 12-0 run to close the half and take a commanding 35-23 lead into the break. The Gators’ 23 first-half points tied their lowest scoring half of the season.
Florida lost the third quarter 19-10 and entered the fourth facing a 21-point deficit. The Gators put together a 9-1 run to cut the lead to 12 with under three minutes remaining and won the final period. However, it proved to be too little too late. Georgia closed it out for the 13-point victory.
Florida struggled offensively throughout the afternoon. The Gators shot 38 percent from the field, 27 percent from three and 58 percent from the free throw line. Georgia, meanwhile, shot 44 percent overall, 35 percent from deep and 76 percent at the charity stripe.
The Bulldogs also controlled the glass, outrebounding Florida 42-30 and holding a 9-3 edge in offensive rebounds that turned into nine second-chance points. Carnegie led the way with 26 points and went 5-for-10 from three, while Mia Woolfolk added a 20-point, 10-rebound double-double. The sophomore duo accounted for 46 of Georgia’s 71 points.
One bright spot for Florida came from its bench. The Gators’ reserves outscored Georgia’s 26-4.
Yiech scored a team-high 14 points on 6 of 9 shooting for her eighth double-digit game of the season and the first time she has led the team in scoring. It marked the first game this season in which one of Florida’s “Big Three” of McGill, Me’Arah O’Neal and Laila Reynolds did not lead the team. Jade Weathersby also added 11 rebounds off the bench.
Despite the regular season finale loss, Florida coach Kelly Rae Finley remains confident in her team.
“We belong. The Gators belong in this league. We belong to win these games,” she said earlier this week.
Florida now turns its attention to the SEC Tournament in Greenville, South Carolina. The Gators are locked in as the No. 12 seed and will face No. 13 Mississippi State (18-12, 5-11) at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday on SEC Network.
Georgia coach Katie Abrahamson-Henderson acknowledged the difficulty of navigating the competitive field in the conference tournament.
“The SEC Tournament, who wants to do that? I don’t think any coach in our league really wants to go and play each other again,” she said. “The SEC is very dangerous. At any point anybody can win.”
Finley believes her team is built for this moment.
“I believe we’re going to have a strong postseason run,” she said. “When you have seniors that you want to continue to play with as teammates, you fight for those people just a little bit harder.”
Category: College Basketball, Gator Sports, Gators Women's Basketball, SEC, Uncategorized, University of Florida
