The University of Florida women’s basketball team kicks off a season-long six-game homestand when it hosts Longwood Sunday, Nov. 10 for its 2019-20 home opener at Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center. Tipoff is set for 3:30 p.m. ET and the contest will follow the men’s basketball game vs. Florida State which starts 1 p.m.
Please note that any fan with only a women’s basketball ticket will not be allowed to enter the arena until the conclusion of the men’s basketball game. A limited number of tickets may be available for the men’s game at the box office located outside Gate 1 on game day for patrons looking to attend. With the men’s basketball game prior to the women’s basketball game on Sunday, general parking will be available at the O’Connell Center garage (off SW 2nd Ave.) on a first-come, first-serve basis. Disabled parking is available anywhere in the O’Connell Center lot. Click here for information on parking and here for general game day information.
| GAME INFO |
| Date: | Sunday, Nov. 10 |
| Time: | 3:30 p.m. ET |
| Opponent: | Longwood (0-1) |
| Location: | Gainesville, Fla. | Exatech Arena at the Stephen C. O’Connell |
| Radio: | WRUF ESPN 98.1 FM/850 AM |
| Radio Talent: | Kyle Crooks, Brittany Davis & Haley Lorenzen |
| Live Stats: | Here |
| Live Stream: | Here |
| Game Notes: | Florida | Longwood |
| Promotions: | Mutts Gone Nuts Halftime Show, Sunday Sundaes, Postgame Autographs |
Opening its season away from Gainesville on Tuesday, the Gators closed strong and posted a 72-65 victory at Grambling State. In a game that saw 18 lead changes and six ties, Florida finished with the upper hand after outscoring the Tigers 21-13 in the fourth quarter. Trailing by as many as seven points, UF stayed the course and improved its offensive and defensive performance as the game progressed. Redshirt-junior Kiki Smith was the main catalyst for Florida as she tied a career best with 16 points and added six assists and nine rebounds. Joining Smith in double figures was Zada Williams who registered 16 points as well and freshman Nina Rickards who tallied 10 in her collegiate debut.
After going without a road victory until March 3 of last season, the Gators didn’t waste any time flipping the script in 2019-20 as they broke through for an away win in their first opportunity.
The Gators tallied 19 assists in their win, surpassing any single game total from last season, and recorded 13 steals, surpassing any single game total from last season as well. The combination of crisp offense and stingy defense along with the contributions of its newcomers, which combined for 31 points, proved to be the difference Tuesday.
Rickards, Lavender Briggs, Brylee Bartram and Faith Dut combined to score 25 points in their debut, the most scored by a freshmen class in their debut since 2012-13 season.
Sunday marks the second meeting all time between Florida and Longwood. The first matchup occurred back in the 2014-15 season when the Gators knocked off the Lancers, 91-46 on Nov. 16, 2014. Also playing in the second game of a double header following a men’s basketball game, Florida featured five double-figure scorers in the rout.
Longwood, under the direction of second-year head coach Rebecca Tillett, returns six letterwinners and welcomes seven newcomers this season. Back for the Lancers in 2019-20 is All-Big South forward Dayna Rouse, who led the team with a 14.4 points per average game a season ago and finished top 25 nationally in field goal shooting percentage. Junior Mallory Odell also returns after leading the team in rebounding along with Orlando native Akila Smith. LU, in its 13th season as a Division I program, was slated to finish 10th in the Big South Conference’s annual women’s basketball preseason poll. The Lancers opened their season Wednesday, falling on the road to James Madison, 93-53. Freshman Kyla McMakin tallied a team-best 17 points.
Gator fans will have the opportunity to catch the women’s basketball team early and often during the non-conference season. Longwood begins a stretch of six-straight at home for Florida, the program’s longest homestand since the 2005-06 season. Following Sunday’s contest, the Gators return to action Saturday, Nov. 16 when they host Samford for a 2 p.m. tip.
| NOTABLES |
- Freshman guard Lavender Briggs dished out eight assists at Grambling. Her eight assists were the most by a freshman in their debut since the 2012-13 season (Sydney Moss, 9).
- Briggs (8) and Smith (6) led the Gators in assists vs. Grambling. Only once last year did Florida feature two players with six or more assists in a game (UNLV, 12/21/18).
- Against Grambling, Florida had just 11 turnovers. A season ago, the Gators played in just four games with 11 or fewer miscues.
- Brylee Bartram provided a spark off the bench in her college debut, draining three 3-pointers including one that put that Gators up double digits in the fourth quarter. Bartram, who is no stranger to knocking down long-range shots, holds the national high school record (boys and girls) with 533 in her career at Seffner Christian.
- After missing final 11 games last season due to an arm injury, sophomore Kristina Moore started UF’s opener, notching seven points, seven rebounds and a career-high four steals.
- With a victory, Cam Newbauer will reach 100 career victories. The third-year Gator coach enters the game with 20 victories at Florida and 79 at Belmont.
- Florida’s 19 assists against Grambling surpassed last season’s game high which was 17 (vs. Arkansas, 1/27/19).
- The Gators host six-straight home games from Nov. 10 – Dec. 1. Their six-game homestand is the team’s longest since the 2005-06 season when it hosted eight consecutive games.
- All seven of UF’s returning letterwinners started at least one game a season ago. UF, Ole Miss and Alabama are the only teams in the SEC with every returner having started a game the season prior.
- The 2019 class, third year head coach Cam Newbauer‘s most highly lauded cohort, features three guards, one forward — and one four-star ranking via ProspectsNation. The cohort is headlined by wing player Briggs who earned a five-star rank via ESPN and became the first in program history to play in the Jordan Brand All-Star game back in April.
| SEASON AND SINGLE GAME TICKET INFO |
· It’s not too late to purchase season tickets with packages starting as low as just $45 and single game tickets are also available. Click here for ticket information.
| FIELD TRIP DAY |
· Florida women’s basketball will host its second annual Field Trip Day on Monday, Nov. 18. Tipoff is set for 10:30 a.m. ET as local schools are invited to checkout the Gators battle Presbyterian College. Admission will be FREE for all local elementary students, teachers, administrators, and chaperones who register for the game online prior to the Nov. 11 deadline. Register here
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