Gator Backcourt Club

The Official Booster Club of the University of Florida Women's Basketball Team

No. 12 Ohio State Too Much for Gators

Florida committed a season-high 24 turnovers that No. 12 Ohio State converted into 42 points and took the 103-77 decision against the Gators at Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center Wednesday evening.

Florida (5-4) trailed by 20 with 2:54 remaining in the second quarter, but staged a 25-11 run over the next 7:52 and the Gators were within six points, 60-54, with 5:02 left in the third. The final points of that spree coming on a four-point-play by Paulina Hersler.

Ohio State (9-2) countered with a 16-4 march over the next 4:06 of the game and took a 76-59 lead into the final quarter, where the Buckeyes outscored the Gators 27-18 for the final margin.

Ohio State scored the first 10 points of the game before Funda Nakkasoglu’s three-pointer got Florida on the board. That pace continued during the first quarter, as the visitors held a 31-18 lead at the end of the frame.

Gator Numbers of Note

  • Haley Lorenzen scored a team-high 17 points with a game-high 11 rebounds for her fourth double-double of the season and the eighth of her career.
  • Funda Nakkasoglu scored 16 points a season-high six assists.
  • Paulina Hersler and Delicia Washington both scored 14 points and collected six rebounds.
  • Freshman Jalaysha Thomas pulled down seven rebounds, four on the offensive end, in 15 minutes of action.
  • Nine of the 10 Gators on the roster scored in the game, contributing 14 points and 11 rebounds.
  • Dyandria Anderson played in the 100th game of her career.

Buckeyes and the Bench

  • Ohio State’s Kelsey Mitchell showed why she leads the nation in scoring and finished with a game-high 30 points, connecting on 4-of-9 three-pointers and 12-22 overall from the floor. During the first quarter, Mitchell became the program’s all-time leading scorer.
  • Sierra Calhoun went for 21 points and hit a trio of threes for the Buckeyes, who converted 9-of-25 overall from beyond the arc.
  • All five of the Buckeye starters scored in double-figures, with only four of the team’s 103 points came off the bench.

Stats at a Glance

  • Florida dished 14 assists on its 30 field goals.
  • The Gators went 9-of-30 from the three-point arc (30.0 percent)
  • Florida held the 41-33 rebound advantage that included 17 offensive boards.
  • OSU’s 13 steals were the most by an opponent this season.
  • OSU’s 103 points were the most by a Gator opponent since Indiana scored 102 on Dec. 20, 2016.

Links of Note:

Quotes from the Court

UF Head Coach Cameron Newbauer

Opening statement:

“We fought, I thought we started off kind off shell shocked. You explain to a team what Kelsey Mitchell can do but I don’t think you can fully understand it until you’re on the court with her. Explosive scorer. There is a reason why she is averaging 28 points a game. So that kind of got us on our heels immediately. Did a great job fighting back, cut it to 60-54 with 4 or 5 minutes left in the third quarter and then, I’ll quantify it as selfish basketball for a quick stretch there. We had a lot of possessions where we went one-on-one and went away from what we do and it really bit us in the tail; and next you thing you know the wheels kind of came off and it was out of control. Hats off to Ohio State, there is a reason why they started in the preseason top 5 or 6. Coach McGuff does a nice job, very good team that took us out of the game. I wasn’t happy with our overall response as a team but we will get better from this, we’ll grow from this and we will keep growing.”

On the turnovers and sloppy play

“Two games in a row, 45 turnovers the last two games. Difference last game was we kept making shots and getting stops. If you’re going to turn the ball over, you’ve got to get stops and rebounds and we didn’t do that tonightand that puts a premium on your offensive possessions. We got sped up and tried to make decisions and quick plays. We tried to make Ohio State-type plays and that’s how they play. We can’t play at that speed and next thing we know there is 180 points on the board and that’s not going to be in our favor.”

On positives from the game

“We were 8-of-10 from the free throw line so our free throws are going up. We out rebounded them by eight, we had 17 offensive rebounds. Haley (Lorenzen) had a great day with a double-double, 17 [points] and 11 [rebounds]. We had four players in double figures, we hit nine threes. The result isn’t what we wanted but we did have some great possessions where we shared the ball and played really well in moments and spurts. It’s part of the process. You get punched a lot when you’re trying to do something that is really hard and you got to get back up and keep fighting, otherwise you stay where you were.”

UF Junior Funda Nakkasoglu

On turnovers

“I don’t think it was there pressure, we just tried to speed it up and got out of our game plan and I think that’s what caused most of our turnovers.”

On fighting back in the third quarter

“When we run our plays, they clearly work, the stats show that perfectly. We ran through them, we crashed offensive boards. You know we played the defense that we had scouted and we ran it to the best of our abilities. I guess we got in over our heads after we got back and kind of went away from that.”

Ohio State Coach Kevin McGuff

On game plan:
“We wanted to play the game on our terms – fast-paced – and we did a good job establishing that. We have been inconsistent with our defense, so we wanted to work on that. We had some stretches that were excellent, but we didn’t sustain it for long enough. Those were the two biggest keys coming in.”

On forcing turnovers:

“We did a really good job in the half court. In the second half, we got our offense going which allowed us to set up our press.”

Ohio State Senior Kelsey Mitchell

On becoming OSU’s all-time leading scorer:

“Thank you for informing me. I feel the same really as I did before, but I am happy to contribute.”

On defenses keying in on her:

“I took what was given to me. If I saw something I could taken advantage of I would, if I saw an open teammate I would hit them. I tried to pick apart what I could.”

What’s Next for the Gators

  • Who: Florida hosts Marshall (3-5), which defeated Morgan State on Wednesday, 73-68
  • When: Sun., Dec. 10 at 1 p.m.
  • Where: Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center * Gainesville, FL
  • TV: SEC Network with Brenda VanLengen & Andraya Carter

Gator Pronunciations for this Release:

  • DYANDRIA Anderson: dee-ANN-dree-uh
  • FUNDA NAKKASOGLU: FOON-da knock-a-SO-glue
  • JALAYSHA Thomas: jah-LAY-shuh
  • DELICIA Washington: duh-LEE-shuh

 

Links of Note:

 

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