Ronni Williams and Tyshara Fleming will play in their final home regular season game as members of the Gator women’s basketball game when Florida hosts Georgia on Sunday afternoon on Senior Day. The game marks the last game of the regular season for each team, with the SEC Tournament starting on Wednesday. The two teams met once earlier this season, with the Gators winning their first SEC game of the season 76-68 in Athens.
Florida
The Gators enter the game with a 13-15 record, including 4-11 in the conference and 2-6 at Exactech Arena. They’re looking to break a three game losing streak, as they’re coming off of a heartbreaking 74-70 loss at Tennessee on Thursday. Florida held a 68-61 lead with under three minutes to play before the Lady Vols ended the game on a 13-2 run and grabbed the win.
Williams had 22 points and nine rebounds in that game, and she’ll look to have another good performance in her last game in front of the Gator home fans. According to the UF media guide, Williams is one of only 24 Gators in history to reach 1,000 points in her career and three rebounds shy of becoming only the ninth player in program history to have over 1,400 points and 800 rebounds in her career. This season, Williams leads the SEC in scoring, putting up 18.7 points per game. She’s also seventh in the conference in rebounding, grabbing 7.9 rebounds per game.
@Ronnipooh_01 reflects on being a Florida Gator. Senior Day tomorrow at 12pm @oconnellctr vs Georgia! #GoGators #TLC pic.twitter.com/bItp23U6ZP
— Gators Women’s Basketball (@GatorsWBK) February 26, 2017
Fleming is the second senior on the team, and has been a solid contributor this season. She’s averaging 7.0 points and 6.7 rebounds per game. She grabbed nine boards against Tennessee in their last game and has provided a good presence in the low post for Florida throughout the season.
https://twitter.com/GatorsWBK/status/835646024496603137
Georgia
Georgia enters with a 15-13 record, but are 7-8 in the SEC and only 3-7 on the road.
They had two standout players in their last meeting against the Gators, with Pachis Roberts and Mackenzie Engram both scoring over 15 points. Roberts led all scorers in that game with 26, including going 15-for-16 from the free-throw line while Engram ended up with 18 points.
Roberts leads the team in scoring, averaging 14.3 points and Engram averages 11.5 points. Forward Caliya Robinson is the other leading scorer on the team, putting up 14.1 points per game.
Georgia enters on a little bit of a winning run, having won three out of their past four. That includes a 71-65 overtime win at Alabama in their last outing which included a double-double from Roberts and a 12 rebound performance from Shanea Ambrister. Florida is top five in rebounding in the conference, so Georgia will look for similar performances from their players on the boards to give them a boost in Gainesville.
Tip-off is set for 1 p.m.