After climbing short of the summit Tuesday against Florida State, UF left nothing to chance in its second game against quality opposition, beating Cincy 81-58 Saturday at the O’Connell Center.
The Bearcats were projected to win the American Athletic Conference, a top ten conference in the nation last year, despite an unconvincing display in its six-point, season-opening victory against Northern Kentucky. The Bearcats will likely be dancing in March and serve as a quality victory for the Gators going forward.
A frenetic Florida team opened the game against a flat Cincinnati, leading to a dominant opening flourish. The Gators sparked a quick 8-0 run off of three Bearcat turnovers, which forced a timeout from the UC sidelines.
Cincy chipped into the Gator lead through a stretch of anemic UF offense, knocking down just two field goals through the final seven minutes of the first stanza. A bucket from Bearcat guard Ilmari Thomas narrowed the deficit to 15-10, which kickstarted an impressive scoring display from the AAC First Team All-Conference selection.
Thomas scored 13 points in the second quarter, including a turnaround jumper to give Cincinnati a six-point lead. UF guard Kiara Smith navigated the Gators out of dire straits once again, as the senior hit a three, a free throw and two layups as part of a 13-2 Florida run. The two stars of the half, Smith and Thomas, traded baskets in the final minute to give UF a 34-28 lead at the break.
Cincinnati employed a triangle-and-two defense to limit UF’s star sophomore Lavender Briggs, which saw Florida’s third and fourth options, Danielle Rainey and Nina Rickards, respectively, continue their bright starts to the season. Rainey dropped an efficient 17 points, hitting three from distance and going 4-5 from the line.
Rickards wasn’t as efficient, going 4-13 from the field, but the sophomore guard broke double-figures for the fourth consecutive game. Both players drew praise from coach Cam Newbauer for attacking the basket and playing aggressively.
“That’s why she (Nina) had some of those really tough finishes,” Newbauer said. “Same with Dani having some really good finishes. Even getting the free throws is part of being aggressive.”
Thomas drew double-and triple-team coverage out of the locker room, limiting her productivity on the offensive end. The senior managed just eight points the rest of the contest, a big reason for UF’s second half dominance. The Gators kept Cincy at arms length throughout most of the third quarter, with each of Florida’s big four rippling the net a couple of times.
However, a pair of three pointers from Cincy forward Arame Niang narrowed the gap to six, and UF tracked towards another fourth quarter tailspin. However, Briggs blossomed after a three game slump and dominated the fourth quarter, scoring 12 points on seven shots while connecting twice from long range.
UF suffocated the Bearcats on defense as well, allowing just five points following Niang’s triple.
“We knew it was going to take 40 minutes,” Newbauer said. “We wanted to try wearing them down, and we did. I thought we really stayed focused and showed a lot of evolution.”
Florida’s front-loaded schedule means they’ll be back at the O’Connell Center on Monday to take on Florida Atlantic. Tip-off is scheduled for 8 p.m., and fans can catch the game live or on the SEC Network.
Contact Declan Walsh at dwalsh@alligator.org and follow him on Twitter @dawalsh_UF.
