The University of Florida women’s basketball team resumes game action Thursday, Feb. 7 when it hosts the Alabama Crimson Tide. Tipoff from Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center is slated for 7 p.m. and all fans are encouraged to wear orange.
The contest will be streamed live on SEC Network+ with Kyle Crooks and Brittany Davis on the call while Tom Collett and Kelly Davis will handle the radio broadcast on ESPN 98.1 FM/850 AM.
Thursday marks “Country Night” as fans are invited to partake in some country fun which includes a FREE Florida Gators mason jar giveaway for the first 250 fans, a mechanical alligator and free fried chicken and sweet tea for students. In addition, tickets are buy one, get one free at the ticket office all day long.
The Gators return to the friendly confines of Exactech Arena after back-to-back road tilts. In its most recent outing, Florida dropped a 62-51 contest at nationally-ranked Kentucky. Florida got off to a strong and turned in one of its best shooting performances of the season, but it wasn’t enough to break through against the Wildcats. Against Kentucky, Florida saw Danielle Rainey and Delicia Washington record impressive individual performances. After scoring just two points at Tennessee in Florida’s first test on the two-game road swing, Rainey erupted for a career-high 20 points on 7-of-10 shooting from the floor. Washington collected her third double-double of the campaign, and her first since early December, as the junior hauled in a season-high 14 boards to go with 10 points.
Florida and Alabama met in a highly-competitive matchup on Jan. 3 at Coleman Coliseum as the contest saw eight lead changes and five ties. Fueled by a 17-0 run in the first quarter, Florida mounted a lead as large as 20 in the first half but the Crimson Tide fought back to outscore UF 43-24 in the second and third quarters combined. After trailing 61-55 midway through the fourth, Florida battled back with eight-straight points to jump ahead 63-61 with 3:56 remaining in the game. From this point forward, Alabama would close the game on a 13-6 run to deny Florida’s bid to snap a four-game slide in SEC openers. Funda Nakkasoglu, 18, and Zada Williams, 11, both finished in double figures.
In the 59 all-time meetings between Florida and Alabama, the Crimson Tide hold a 31-28 edge. In games played in Gainesville, the Gators are 15-8 and have won five of the last six contests.
Alabama is one of three SEC opponents that the Gators will see twice this season during the regular season slate. Florida also has a pair of matchups remaining with Georgia and a return game vs. South Carolina.
Alabama enters the matchup 11-11 and 3-6 in SEC competition and has dropped three of its last four contests. The Crimson Tide, who have played just six road games on the year, are 1-3 in conference games away from Tuscaloosa. UA features a trio of double-figure scorers paced by junior college transfer and Alabama native, Cierra Johnson, who averages a team-high 14.5 points and a team-high 2.9 assists per game. Florida State transfer Jasmine Walker scores 13.5 points per game and hauls in a team-best 7.3 rebounds. Walker scored a game-high 23 points and knocked down five 3-pointers when the teams squared off last month. Five Crimson Tide players average above eight points per game and Alabama ranks fifth in the league averaging 40.0 rebounds per game. UA is under the direction of sixth-year head coach Kristy Curry who has amassed a 95-90 record in Tuscaloosa and over 400 wins overall in her 20 year coaching career.
Following Thursday’s tilt, Florida will next take the court Sunday, Feb. 10 when it travels to Georgia.
Florida vs. Alabama
Time & Date: Thursday, Feb. 7 | 7 p.m. ET
Live Stream:SEC Network+
Live Stats:Link
Radio: ESPN 98.1FM/850 AM WRUF
Records: Florida (5-17, 1-8) | Alabama (11-11, 3-6)
Notables
- Between her Utah State and Florida careers, Funda Nakkasoglu has scored 1,895 points. Her total is the second highest mark among active players in the SEC (trailing just Sophie Cunningham, 1,942) and 19th among all active NCAA I players. Nakkasoglu’s 16.5 points per game average is the highest mark for a Gator through 22 games since Ronnie Williams averaged 19.0 through 22 during the 2016-17 campaign.
- In her 48 game career with UF she has scored 746 points. Her 15.6 points per game average is the sixth-highest in program history and her .398 mark from three-point range is the best in program history.
- Since joining the Gators at Ohio State (Dec. 16), Danielle Rainey has provided a spark and been a difference maker in conference action. She has finished with 15 or more points in four of her last six games and has knocked down at least one three-pointer in 10 of her 13 games played. Against Kentucky she dropped a career-high 20 points and in Florida’s last home game against Arkansas, she notched her first career double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds. Rainey is averaging 9.7 points per game in SEC action.
- Against Kentucky, Delicia Washington notched her 10th career double-double and third of the 2018-19 season. Washington scored eight of her 10 points in the fourth and finished with a season-high 14 rebounds.
- Over its last two matchups against Alabama, Florida is averaging 11.5 three-pointers per game. In last season’s meeting UF poured in 12 and earlier this season it connected for 10 in Tuscaloosa. Nakkasoglu is averaging 3.5 three-pointers per game in those contests.
- The Gators have held their opponent to 65 or fewer points 10 times this season. On 12 occasions, the Gators have limited their opponent to a point total below their season average.
- Against Tennessee, Florida committed just eight turnovers which was a season low, but in its next action against Kentucky, the Gators turned the ball over 26 times. In losses Florida averages 16.6 turnovers per game with a -3.5 margin while averaging 13.8 turnovers and a +2.4 margin in wins.
- Florida has won the battle of the boards in four of its last six contests and seven of its last 11.
- UF’s bench is outscoring its opponent’s reserves, 411-313 on the season and the Gators have held the edge in terms of bench production in 13 games.
- Through 22 games, five of UF’s opponents are either ranked in the AP Top 25 or receiving votes. As of Feb. 4, Florida ranks 38th nationally in Strength of Schedule and has taken on nine teams ranked in the RPI’s top 60. UF has battled 15 teams that qualified for the postseason a season ago. NCAA Tournament (FSU, Mercer, Ohio State, South Carolina, Missouri, Mississippi State, Tennessee, Kentucky), WNIT (Indiana, Bethune-Cookman, Utah, UNLV, Alabama) WBI (Northeastern).
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