Sports | Women's Basketball - The Independent Florida Alligator

Graduate transfer Paulina Hersler is posting career highs in points per game(12.2), rebounds per game(6.8) and three-point percentage (37 percent) during her time as a Gator.

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Paulina Hersler paying dividends for Gators women’s basketball team this season

By Justin Ahlum | Jan. 29, 2018

Before Paulina Hersler came to UF, the graduate transfer started only two games at UCLA and averaged under 11 minutes per game. Now, at a new program under a new head coach, the forward from Sweden has shined throughout the season, playing well in the paint and stretching the floor with her ability to shoot the ball from long range.

Florida guard Funda Nakkasoglu's 19 points against Georgia on Sunday wasn't enough to propel the Gators to a win over the Bulldogs.

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Florida women’s basketball team blows fourth-quarter lead, falls to No. 21 Georgia

By Morgan McMullen | Jan. 28, 2018

As the final seconds ticked away in the third quarter, Florida clung to a five-point lead. With Georgia dribbling out the clock for the final shot of the period, UF guard Funda Nakkasoglu and forward Haley Lorenzen double-teamed Georgia’s Que Morrison and forced a turnover. Nakkasoglu grabbed the loose ball, raced down the court and banked in a buzzer-beating layup.

Florida guard Funda Nakkasoglu scored 19 points on 7-of-13 shooting in the Gators' 90-53 loss to Mississippi State on Thursday night.

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Gators women’s basketball team flounders in blowout defeat against No. 2 Mississippi State

By Justin Ahlum | Jan. 25, 2018

It was sink or swim for the Florida women's basketball team as it hit the road to play against the second-ranked team in the nation on Thursday.

Senior forward Haley Lorenzen is nearly averaging a double-double (12.9 points and 9.6 rebounds per game) this season. On Tuesday, she was named SEC Player of the Week after helping UF to its first two conference wins.

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Haley Lorenzen, Gators women’s basketball team preparing for No. 2 Mississippi State

By Morgan McMullen | Jan. 24, 2018

As senior forward Haley Lorenzen pulled down her final rebound Sunday afternoon against Ole Miss, there were no opponents around her. Her boxout created enough space to take one step to her right, elevate and bank home the eventual game-winning score with 27 seconds left on the clock.

Haley Lorenzen had 7 points, 7 rebounds and 2 blocks in the fourth quarter of a 61-60 win against Ole Miss at the O'Connell Center on Sunday.

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Haley Lorenzen, Delicia Washington stepping up for Gators in recent back-to-back victories

By Justin Ahlum | Jan. 22, 2018

Entering the fourth quarter down by 13, the Florida women’s basketball team was on the brink of another SEC loss on its home floor. But forward Haley Lorenzen had other ideas.

After losing its first five SEC games, the Florida women's basketball team is on a current two-game winning streak, defeating Ole Miss 61-60 on Sunday afternoon.

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Gators stage late comeback, defeat Ole Miss at O'Dome

By Morgan McMullen | Jan. 21, 2018

With a raucous home crowd surrounding them, the Gators broke their huddle and trotted out for one more defensive possession. Eight seconds remained in the game, and Ole Miss needed a bucket to pull back into the lead.

Forward Paulina Hersler tied her career high with 19 points in Florida's 65-51 win over Arkansas, its first conference victory in the Cameron Newbauer era.

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Paulina Hersler, Haley Lorenzen lead UF women’s basketball team to first SEC win of 2018

By Justin Ahlum | Jan. 18, 2018

At the start of the third quarter, Florida forward Paulina Hersler received a pass and pulled up from the top of the key for the Gators’ first shot of the frame. The shot went straight through the basket, increasing UF’s lead over Arkansas to double digits and jump starting a 14-4 run to start the second half.

“This group responds,” coach Cameron Newbauer said. “They respond from film, they respond from just their own personal thoughts from the game. I look forward to practice each day because of that.”

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Coach Newbauer all smiles before Thursday’s matchup with Arkansas

By Morgan McMullen | Jan. 17, 2018

The shift in Cameron Newbauer’s mood between Sunday’s postgame press conference and Tuesday’s practice was palpable.

“It’s tough right now,” said coach Cameron Newbauer after his team's fifth consecutive loss. “We gotta keep fighting, keep figuring out a way to get better.”

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Gators continuing to work through struggles in midst of five-game losing streak

By Justin Ahlum | Jan. 15, 2018

After Sunday’s loss to LSU marked Florida’s fifth straight defeat, UF women’s basketball coach Cameron Newbauer spent the opening moments of his press conference with his head down as he spoke to reporters.

Haley Lorenzen matched a season high with 20 points and added 10 rebounds against LSU in a 66-59 loss on Sunday. “We let our mistakes kind of dictate what we were trying to do,” Lorenzen said.

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Gators continue SEC skid against LSU, fall to 0-5 in conference play

By Morgan McMullen | Jan. 14, 2018

Down by 15 with just over six minutes left in the fourth quarter, the Florida women’s basketball team played like a group desperate for its first conference win.

Funda Nakkasoglu, Florida's leading scorer with 15.2 points per game, struggled to put away buckets against Kentucky. She shot 3-of-15 from the field for 8 points.

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Florida’s shooting woes continue as Gators drop fourth straight SEC game

By Justin Ahlum | Jan. 11, 2018

Trailing by two with less than seven seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, the Gators inbounded the ball in front of their bench. After a cross-court pass from forward Haley Lorenzen found guard Funda Nakkasoglu open on the right side of the court, Nakkasoglu attempted an off-balance three-pointer.

Gabby Seiler was recruited by Cameron Newbauer while he was an assistant coach with Georgia. Nearly nine years later and after leading UF soccer to a 17-7 record and an NCAA quarterfinals appearance, Seiler is finally on his team.

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Women’s Basketball Notebook: Seiler partakes in first practice with UF ahead of Thursday’s game against Kentucky

By Morgan McMullen | Jan. 10, 2018

With sophomore guard Sydney Morang ruled out for the season in late November with concussion-like symptoms, the Florida women’s basketball team has lacked backcourt depth at practice for most of the year.

“You just start an SEC season, where everybody is bigger, faster, stronger, quicker,” said coach Cameron Newbauer after a loss to Alabama. “And you’ve gotta be tougher immediately. There’s no days off.”

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Newbauer frustrated following Florida women’s basketball team’s 0-3 SEC start

By Morgan McMullen | Jan. 8, 2018

Coach Cameron Newbauer was nearly at a loss for words to describe his team’s nine-point defeat against Alabama on Thursday.

Dyandria Anderson scored 12 points, including the final bucket in regulation, in a double-overtime thriller against Ole Miss.

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Gators climb back from double-digit deficit but fall to Ole Miss in double OT

By Justin Ahlum | Jan. 7, 2018

After receiving an inbound pass at the top of the key, Florida forward Paulina Hersler pulled up with five seconds left in the fourth quarter. Down by two, Hersler missed a shot to the right of the rim, but guard Dyandria Anderson pulled down an offensive rebound and scored a layup with less than one second remaining to send the game to overtime.

Haley Lorenzen ended the game with 14 points on 55 percent shooting from the field, but could not come up with a bucket late in Thursday night's against Alabama.

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Florida drops to 0-2 in SEC play following close loss to ‘Bama

By Morgan McMullen | Jan. 4, 2018

Florida forward Haley Lorenzen called for the ball with just over five minutes left in the game. After setting a screen for a streaking teammate, Lorenzen posted up Alabama’s Ashley Williams, boxing her out beneath the basket before snatching an inlet pass from teammate Delicia Washington with both hands. She raised up for the layup, was fouled by Williams and ultimately landed a pair of late free throws to go up by two.

“They started to chip away at (the lead) and we started to collapse and cave in,” Florida coach Cameron Newbauer said after Florida's 84-55 loss to Auburn. "“We’ve just got to have more of a resolve about ourselves and someone has to pick us up.”

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Gators second half meltdown leads to first SEC loss of season

By Justin Ahlum | Dec. 31, 2017

With under four minutes left in the second quarter, Florida guard Funda Nakkasoglu was sent to the charity stripe for a pair of free throws. After Nakkasoglu buried one of her two attempts, the Gators slowly watched their eight-point lead slip away at the end of the half and went into the break ahead by one.

Florida forward Haley Lorenzen scored 18 points and pulled down 12 rebounds in Florida's 85-51 victory over Delaware State on Wednesday.

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Florida thrashes Delaware State behind big day from Lorenzen

By Morgan McMullen | Dec. 27, 2017

With the final seconds winding down and the game well in hand, Florida guard Tameria Johnson ran down a Delaware State fast break attempt and poked the ball away. As she took it across half court, coach Cameron Newbauer signaled his offense to run one more play. But Johnson, looking over to her bench, lost the handle and was called for a backcourt violation. The freshman laughed it off, shook her head and jogged back for the final defensive possession of the afternoon.

Florida guard Paulina Hersler scored a game-high 19 points on Thursday to lead the Gators to a 71-51 win over Saint Joseph's at the O'Connell Center.

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Hersler leads Gators over Saint Joseph’s on Thursday

By Justin Ahlum | Dec. 21, 2017

With two and a half minutes left in the fourth quarter, Florida guard Paulina Hersler received a pass at the top of the key. She stepped back, jumped up and drained the three-pointer, giving the Gators a 24-point advantage, their largest lead of the contest.

Florida women's basketball coach Cameron Newbauer wasn't happy with his team after it recorded just two assists in the second half of its five-point loss to Chattanooga on Wednesday. "Playing all individual, selfish, one-on-one basketball," he said.

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Gators lose to Chattanooga following ‘selfish’ second-half play

By Morgan McMullen | Dec. 20, 2017

Dyandria Anderson hadn’t scored all game. Undeterred, the Florida guard drove down the right side of the court. With the Gators down by three and just under five minutes remaining in the contest, Anderson lurched hard into a trailing defender and drained a layup while drawing a foul. She then swished the free throw and tied the game up at 55 apiece.

Florida guard Funda Nakkasoglu scored 17 points in Florida's 74-69 victory over Marshall on Sunday at the O'Connell Center.

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Gators hold off Marshall at home in five-point win

By Justin Ahlum | Dec. 10, 2017

With less than three minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, Florida guard Dyandria Anderson stopped her dribble and launched a cross court pass to teammate Funda Nakkasoglu. Nakkasoglu caught the ball, launched a three from the corner of the court and watched it fall through the bottom of the net.