On Monday afternoon, Florida emerged from its locker room and took the court for practice. Dressed in their all-blue practice uniforms, the Gators shot around, with multiple players getting reps at the free-throw line and from behind the arc.
After a thrilling double-overtime win against No. 17 Gonzaga on Friday, the Gators played No. 1 Duke in the Phil Knight Invitational championship game on Sunday.
PORTLAND, Ore. — Marvin Bagley III had 30 points and 15 rebounds, and No. 1 Duke rallied late to beat No. 7 Florida 87-84 on Sunday night for the Motion Bracket championship at the Phil Knight Invitational tournament.
Tied at 97 nearly halfway through the game’s second overtime, Jalen Hudson paced himself, finding a crease on the left side early in the shot clock.
First it was Jalen Hudson splashing a three-pointer, then 90 seconds later, it was Egor Koulechov sinking his own.
Already up by 11 points with 5:02 to go in the first quarter, Delicia Washington snagged a rebound and called for her teammates to sprint up the court. She dished an outlet pass to Sydney Searcy, who promptly drained a three-pointer just six seconds after Washington came down with the ball.
With the final minute winding down in the game, Sydney Searcy hoisted a three-point attempt in the right-hand corner directly off an inbound pass, and swished it.
With less than two minutes left in the fourth quarter, Funda Nakkasoglu ran down the floor before taking the ball across the halfcourt line. She fell and remained down on the sideline for several moments. With coach Cameron Newbauer to her left, the junior transfer walked off the court gingerly and was replaced by freshman Tameria Johnson.
Throughout his news conference following the Gators’ loss to Florida State, UF coach Cameron Newbauer kept his head down as he assessed a 30-point home blowout.
Nearly nine minutes into the first half, the Gators swung the ball around the perimeter and into the hands of Egor Koulechov.
After the Gators attempted 54 three-point shots in their first two games of the regular season, it became clear they had a green light to shoot the ball whenever they pleased.
Freshman forward Mikayla Hayes got the feed in the paint, dribbled once and spun over her left shoulder. She went up for the jump hook but was soundly rejected by Florida State’s Chatrice White, much to the delight of the FSU contingent behind the Seminoles’ bench.
Gliding through the air, KeVaughn Allen dunked the ball as an explosion of cheers echoed through the O’Connell Center.
Mike White stressed the need to improve defensively before the season started.
Up by two with less than five minutes remaining against Arkansas State, the Gators pushed hard up the court. As the play developed, sophomore guard Delicia Washington received a long outlet pass but stepped out of bounds. Turnover.
UF coach Mike White had a lot to smile about after a season-opening win on Monday.
Dyandria Anderson put up a prayer from the left side of the court. With two seconds left on the game clock, the senior’s three-point attempt bounced off the back rim as Arkansas State’s Akasha Westbrook grabbed the rebound and ran out the clock.
Seven Florida players made three-pointers in UF’s season-opening win over the weekend. Just how coach Cameron Newbauer likes it.
Egor Koulechov was a scorer during his two seasons at Rice. So when he announced he was transferring to UF for graduate school, most thought he could bring that with him.
Two split-second plays proved just how ready Florida is for the 2017-18 season.
Solutions by The State News
