Florida Women’s Basketball Defeats Ospreys

Florida Women’s Basketball took care of business Monday night against North Florida. The Gators defeated the Ospreys 82-65 after leading the entire game.

Power in the Paint

Florida made a statement early on against North Florida down low. 24 of the Gator’s 32 points in the first half were in the paint. The Gators completely overpowered the Ospreys in the post and had a visible size advantage.

Due to the dominant defense from Florida, many players were able to force fast break layups. Florida combined for 11 fastbreak points in the first half.

https://twitter.com/GatorsWBK/status/1721659080149004756

Despite the constant scoring in the paint, the Gators struggled to capitalize on layups at times. Florida was only 7-for-17 with layups in the first half. However, Florida used their size to command the glass. The Gators totaled 12 offense rebounds through the first two quarters and used these for nine second-chance points.

Osprey’s Push Late in First Half

Although the Osprey were down the entire first half, late in the second quarter, North Florida gained momentum and closed a double-digit gap heading into halftime.

Led by point guard Jayla Adams, the Ospreys went on an 8-1 run in the final five minutes of the first half. This run brought the Gators lead to single digits as the halftime score was 32-26. Adams was the leading scorer for North Florida with 14 points and five assists.

https://twitter.com/OspreyWBB/status/1721664649853345917

Matharu Mania

After receiving her third foul, Florida’s #2 Aliyah Matharu sat for the final minutes of the 2nd quarter, however, her presence was certainly felt in her second-half return.

With 11 of her 15 points coming in the second half, Matharu made an instant difference for the Gators and brought an energy fellow teammates fed off of. Matharu’s aggressive defense leads to turnovers for opponents. North Florida totaled 19 turnovers in Monday’s game.

Another offensive star against the Osprey’s was #23 Leilani Correa. Correa scored 19 for the Gators and shot 8-15 from the field. Correa helped keep the offense pushing which wore North Florida down and allowed Florida to continue extending their lead.

Florida proved too much for the Ospreys to handle and became 1-0 on the year with an 82-65 win over North Florida.

Season opener win✔️#GoGators | Presented by @WellsFargo pic.twitter.com/ds1L1jkIZt

— Gators Women’s Basketball (@GatorsWBK) November 7, 2023

Next Up

Florida Women’s Basketball will be back in action against Bethune-Cookman on November 9th. This Thursday night game will tip-off at 6 p.m. in Exactech Arena.