Preview: Florida Women’s Basketball Takes On Missouri

Florida Women’s Basketball will continue their SEC play when they take on the Missouri Tigers Sunday.

The Gators are currently 4-7 in the conference and coming off a 74-72 victory to the Ole Miss Rebels. The win was sparked by freshman Lavender Brigg’s 23 points and eight rebounds.

History

The Gators took on the Tigers two times during the 2018-2019 season. The first time they played, the Gators were victorious, winning 58-56, after a game-winning layup by former gator Delicia Washington with 2.2 seconds left in the game. The second game was the final game of the 2018-2019 season. The results were a little bit different as the Gators lost 87-56. The loss finished off Florida’s season at 8-23 and 3-13 in the SEC.

Florida

Looking at this season, the Gators have some new players that have really been making an impact on the team. Briggs, the 6’1 guard, has been wreaking havoc for Florida, averaging 14.2 points and 6.3 assists per game. Briggs is coming off another 23-point game, tying her career-high, where she also came up with the game-winning steal and sealed two free throws to secure a narrow victory for Florida.

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Besides Briggs, freshman Nina Rickards has also stepped up for the Gators with 5.9 points per game and being a force on defense. The Gators also welcomed three-point sharp-shooter Brylee Bartram as well as Faith Dut, a force in the paint.

The Gators will also have some familiar faces when they take on Missouri including redshirt-junior KiKi Smith and sophomore Ariel Johnson. Smith has been averaging 12.2 points per game, almost doubling her average from last season, and has been able to facilitate and run Florida’s offense smoothly. Johnson is averaging 6.5 points per game and also helps to dish the ball out on the floor.

Missouri

Missouri is currently 6-18 on the season, 3-8 in SEC and coming off a 66-58 loss to LSU. The Tigers are led by freshman guard Aijha Blackwell who has been averaging 13.7 points and 6.6 rebounds. Senior Amber Smith also leads the Tigers, averaging 12.3 points and 6 rebounds. Smith made the All-SEC preseason first-team this season and the All-SEC preseason second-team last season. The last time these two teams met, Smith finished with 18 points, shooting 6-10 from the field.

Florida head coach Cameron Newbauer spoke about the threat Missouri brings.

Tip-off for the game is slated for 3 p.m.