The Florida women’s basketball season came to an end last Thursday in Greenville, South Carolina, with an 87-56 loss to Missouri in the second round of the SEC Tournament.
The sparse Florida crowd at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, South Carolina, sheepishly tried to revitalize the players, but only in vain.
Ole Miss coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin desperately tried to motivate her team during the final timeout of the game. She slammed her clipboard to the ground and pounded her fist against her red leather jacket looking for a reaction from her players, but she was met with silence.
Guard Funda Nakkasoglu stepped to the free-throw line amid a monster, 23-point performance.
It was all smiles before Thursday night’s game at the O’Connell Center as Florida honored its lone senior, Funda Nakkasoglu, on Senior Night.
It was over early.
Aggies center Ciera Johnson scored an easy right-handed layup to open the scoring on the first possession of Monday night’s game at the O’Connell Center.
Growing up, Funda Nakkasoglu wondered why she couldn’t have a “normal” name.
It was like watching a movie you’ve seen a thousand times before.
Cam Newbauer just looked down in the post-game press conference. The typically optimistic coach was quiet after his team gave up over 90 points for a second-straight game.
Florida was down 17 early in the third quarter in Athens, Georgia, looking for anything to shift the momentum. An easy rebound floated up for UF, and a sea of Gator hands reached up for the ball. But the big paws of Georgia forward Caliya Robinson soared above them all to snatch the rebound and make the easy put-back.
Florida guard Delicia Washington had been there before.
Fans of the Florida women’s basketball team could dream for the first three quarters on Sunday.
The Gators walked into the Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville, Tennessee, without one of the most important elements in the game of basketball: height. The team was down its starting 6-foot-1 forward, Kristina Moore, after she injured her arm Sunday against Arkansas, and her absence was evident from the first whistle to the last.
The Gators tried to get one last shot off before the buzzer sounded. They had an excellent opening quarter on Sunday against Arkansas and were up by 12.
It was the pace.
If you told Florida women’s basketball coach Cam Newbauer that the Gators out-rebounded No. 7 Mississippi State and held its leading scorer, Teaira McCowan, to just two points, he probably wouldn’t have expected his team to get blown out.
Ole Miss guard Mimi Reid drilled a three on the first possession of Sunday’s game in Oxford, Mississippi.
It has been a frustrating season for the Florida women’s basketball team, but one signal that greener pastures could be on the horizon can be found at the bottom of the stat sheet after every game: bench points.
A hesitation move and a dash to her right allowed her to blow by the defender. She reached the rim and leaped as three Missouri Tigers jumped along with her to try and swat the ball away. She double-clutched and banked the shot off the glass and in with 2.2 seconds left to give Florida its first lead since 8:14 in the first quarter.
Solutions by The State News
