Sports | Women's Basketball

Cameron Newbauer coaching against Kentucky on Feb. 15. Newbauer announced he is stepping down as head coach of the Gators Friday.

Cam Newbauer steps down, Kelly Rae Finley promoted

By Julianna Reichenbach | July 16

Cam Newbauer has stepped down from the women’s head basketball after four seasons at the helm.

Smith, who became the team’s lead scorer in guard Lavender Briggs’ absence, had an underwhelming night with only 10 points to her name. Photo from UF-Alabama game Feb. 18.

Gators tournament hopes die after loss to Villanova

By Grethel Aguila | Mar. 21

After the Gators were eliminated from the SEC Tournament, Smith got another opportunity to suit up for the orange and blue. Photo from UF-Georgia game Feb. 20.

Gators barely advance to WNIT regional semifinal

By Grethel Aguila | Mar. 19

Kiara Smith dribbles in a 77-70 loss against Alabama on Feb. 18. The 5-foot-10-inch redshirt senior dropped a career-high 36 points Thursday in a season-ending loss against Kentucky.

Kiara Smith and her shoes find the right fit at Florida

By Griffin Foll | Mar. 8

After eclipsing 1,000 career points in Wednesday's win over Auburn, star Florida guard Kiara Smith dropped a career-high 36 points — accounting for 56.2% of the Gators’ points. Photo from UF-Kentucky game Feb. 1.

Gators’ supporting cast irrelevant in SEC Tournament loss to Kentucky

By Griffin Foll | Mar. 4

Guard Kiara Smith led the Gators to victory over Auburn in the SEC Tournament game Wednesday. The Gators will now face No.5-seed Kentucky Thursday.

Florida advances to next round of SEC Tournament after strong Smith showing

By Grethel Aguila | Mar. 3

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The squad will lean heavily on Smith, the SEC’s No. 6 scorer. She averages 18.4 points per game. Photo from UF-Georgia game Feb. 28.

SPORTS | WOMEN'S BASKETBALL

Gators look to survive loss-ridden Auburn in SEC Tournament

By Griffin Foll | Mar. 2

Florida hopes to tame the Auburn Tigers Wednesday afternoon as the teams face off in the opening round of the SEC Tournament.

Sophomore guard Nina Rickards scored 14 points, and freshman forwards Jordyn Merritt and Floor Toonders dropped a career-high 16 points. Photo from UF-Georgia game Sunday.

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Florida’s underclassmen shine in regular season finale loss to Georgia

By Griffin Foll | Feb. 28

The Gators eyed a potential comeback but Staiti’s dagger pushed the Bulldogs’ lead to 13 stifled any of the Gators’ attempts to rally from behind.

Smith hit a career-high 34 points Sunday. Photo from January UF-Mizzou game.

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Gators dragged by Tigers despite Smith’s career-high afternoon

By Grethel Aguila | Feb. 21

Mizzou started off strong with a three within the first 30 seconds of the game — a bad omen of the 40 minutes to come for Florida.

Since Briggs’ departure, Smith has scored 50 points while missing only two minutes of action.

SPORTS | WOMEN'S BASKETBALL

Florida heads to Columbia seeking revenge against Missouri

By Griffin Foll | Feb. 20

With just two season games remaining, Florida will travel to Columbia to face Missouri Sunday in a rematch of last month’s narrow home loss.

Kiara Smith played the entire game and matched her career-high 27 points Thursday night.

SPORTS | WOMEN'S BASKETBALL

Gators lose to Alabama despite Smith’s career-high performance

By Griffin Foll | Feb. 18

Star UF guard Kiara Smith’s career-high 27-point performance Thursday night wasn't enough as the Gators lost their ninth SEC game to Alabama.

Guards Nina Rickards and Danielle Rainey picked up the slack from Briggs’ absence, hitting career highs with 19 and 20 points. Photo from Feb. 15 UF-Kentucky game.

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Without Briggs, the Gators must ramp up their offense

By Grethel Aguila | Feb. 17

The Gators must get more offensive production from players beyond Briggs and Smith. And with Briggs out of the picture, there’s no way around it.

Star guard Kiara Smith led the Gators with 23 points while recording her sixth double-double season Monday night.

SPORTS | WOMEN'S BASKETBALL

Florida falls to Kentucky 88-80 without Briggs

By Griffin Foll | Feb. 15

Without star guard Lavender Briggs, Florida relied on offensive production elsewhere in its home loss to No. 17 Kentucky.

Florida forward Faith Dut (25) chipped in six point in Florida's overtime victory vs. LSU Thursday

SPORTS | WOMEN'S BASKETBALL

Florida’s depth provides a much-needed boost in Gators’ overtime victory over LSU

By Griffin Foll | Feb. 13

After relying heavily on the production of star guards Lavender Briggs and Kiara Smith in recent games, Florida’s depth provided the necessary support to lift the Gators to an OT win over LSU

It took Florida nearly three minutes to get on the scoreboard before sophomore Faith Dut hit both free throws to cut LSU’s lead in half.

SPORTS | WOMEN'S BASKETBALL

Gators edge Tigers in an overtime thriller

By Griffin Foll | Feb. 11

A combined 40-point performance by star guards Lavender Briggs and Kiara Smith lifted Florida to its third conference win of the season as the Gators defeated LSU 73-66.

Relying on two stars guards (Lavender Briggs and Kiara Smith) to shoot more than 70% of Florida’s points, like during the Arkansas game, isn’t sustainable. Photo from UF-Mizzou game January 2021.

SPORTS | WOMEN'S BASKETBALL

Florida looks for third conference win to LSU as season end approaches

By Grethel Aguila | Feb. 10

Florida shouldn’t expect a W in Baton Rouge if it repeats the same mistakes it has made the entire season — especially overreliance on Briggs and Smith.

Florida earned its second conference win against Ole Miss Sunday. Photo courtesy to the SEC Media Portal.

SPORTS | WOMEN'S BASKETBALL

Florida secures second consecutive conference win over Ole Miss

By Grethel Aguila | Jan. 24

Following an arm injury, Smith, who made 25 points in her 35 minutes of gameplay, was on the bench, and the Gators knew they had to go on without Sunday’s key player.

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Gators head to Ole Miss with hopes for second straight conference win

By Griffin Foll | Jan. 23

Ole Miss boasts a 6-2 home record, while Florida owns a 1-4 road record.

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Checking in on the Gators through six SEC games

By Griffin Foll | Jan. 21

With eight conference games remaining, Florida women’s basketball looks to continue its winning streak heading into the SEC Tournament.

SPORTS | WOMEN'S BASKETBALL

Florida guard Lavender Briggs named SEC Player of the Week

By Griffin Foll | Jan. 20

Briggs becomes the first UF women’s basketball player to win SEC Player of the Week since 2018.