Florida Women’s Basketball vs. Vanderbilt: Can the Gators Get a Top-10 Win?
Florida women’s basketball is set to visit Nashville to face No. 5 Vanderbilt on Sunday for another SEC matchup. The game is set to begin at 4 p.m. and will be on ESPN.
The question surrounding the women’s team for this game is simple: How can it get a crucial win?
Currently the Gators are No. 15 in the SEC with 1-7 conference record, tied with Texas A&M and one game better than the 0-7 Arkansas Razorbacks. The Gators only conference win came 89-71 against the Missouri Tigers.
The Gators were particularly bad in their last game against No. 4 Texas on Thursday. While almost every stat was bad for Florida, its field goal percentage was particularly atrocious, with 49 attempted and only 22 made. The Gators also averaged their lowest defensive rating of the season of 17 and their third lowest offensive rating of 11.
“I thought the first, third and fourth quarter were good, second quarter got a little bit away from us and that was a separation in the game,” said coach Kelly Rae Finley.
Her words ring true, with the Longhorns outscoring the Gators by a sizable 26-12 margin in the second quarter. While the Gators managed to put up an impressive 22 points to the Longhorn’s 25 in the third quarter, they got buried in the fourth 21-15.
Our original question, then, more precisely: What can Florida do to make the game against No.4 Vanderbilt competitive?
The Gators don’t have a bad defense — not when they average 38 rebounds, 10 steals and four blocks per game.
Liv McGill is without a doubt Florida’s best player, averaging 22.6 points per game. McGill can’t control the offense on her own, though, especially shooting 25% from 3. McGill only scored 15 points while being on the floor for 37 minutes against Texas.
Others such as forward Me’Arah O’Neal need to step up as well. O’Neal was on the floor for 32 minutes against Texas, yet recorded an abysmal line of three rebounds and two assists, but added 17 points. This stat line is particularly puzzling as O’Neal is the defensive heart of the team, boasting Florida’s highest number of blocks and rebounds.
A win, or at least a competitive showing, against Vanderbilt requires McGill to get out of her shooting slump and for O’Neal to once again control the glass.
Florida’s game Sunday to put up a heroic showing despite struggling heavily in conference play. Coverage will start at 3:40 p.m. on ESPN 98.1FM/850 AM WRUF and 4 p.m. on ESPN.
Category: Basketball, Feature Sports News, Gator Sports, Gators Women's Basketball, Women's College Basketball
