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The Florida Gators women’s basketball team defeated Texas A&M, 63-51, at Exactech Arena on Sunday.
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The Gators (11-8, 2-5 SEC) were down standouts Aliyah Matharu and Ra Shaya Kyle. Matharu was out due to an undisclosed illness and Kyle was out due to a knee injury. Despite the limited roster, Florida was able to play as a team and perform strong defensively to bounce back after two consecutive losses.
“The Gators did what we do best tonight, and it was really fun to see us excel on the defensive end of the floor,” coach Kelly Rae Finley said.
First-Half Lead
Florida was able to take the lead early in quarter one, when lead scorer Leilani Correa put up four points and guard Kenza Salgues put up her first 3-pointer of the afternoon. Senior forward Faith Dut also stood out with nine rebounds. Dut gained momentum by starting off strong in the quarter.
The Gators secured a 10-point lead against Texas A&M (15-5, 3-4) by the end of the quarter, 17-7.
Dut continued to turn on the heat in the second quarter and was the first Gator to add points with a layup assisted by junior guard Alberte Rimdal.
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Because of strong defensive efforts, Florida was able to secure a 23-7 lead early in the quarter two. But, toward the end of the quarter, the Gators offense began to struggle, as they began missing field goals and Texas A&M was able to go on a scoring run to cut the margin to 24-17.
From here, Kenza Salgues secured her second 3-pointer of the day to help move Florida to 29-18 going into halftime.
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Second-Half Comeback
Texas A&M came out strong offensively at the start of the third quarter.
Aggies guard Endyia Rogers went on a scoring run, making nine back-to-back points. After two layups from Aicha Coulibaly, Texas A&M earned a 31-29 lead.
Both teams struggled to deliver offensively for a few minutes until the Gators regained the lead and finished the quarter up 39-36.
Florida regained the momentum at the start of the final quarter, taking a more comfortable lead, 50-40, with about four minutes remaining.
Correa’s 5th 20+ Point Game
Correa recorded her fifth 20+ point game, as she put up 22 points.
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“I don’t really feel as much pressure as you may think I do, because most of the time my teammates are getting me the ball,” Correa said. “Just trusting in my teammates takes a lot of the pressure off my shoulders.”
Next Up
The Gators travel to LSU on Sunday to take on the No. 9 Tigers (18-3, 5-2), who play Monday vs. Mississippi State. The game is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. on the SEC Network and ESPN 98.1-FM/850-AM WRUF.
