Chris Chiozza stole the ball from a James Madison guard late in the first half, sprinted down the court and scored an uncontested layup.
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.
As a three-point jumper from Florida guard KeVaughn Allen clanked off the side of the rim, Clemson forward Elijah Thomas started sprinting down the court.
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.
Chris Chiozza signaled for his teammates to move away from the right side of the court with the game tied at 60.
Trailing by two with less than a minute remaining in the game, KeVaughn Allen drove down the court. The junior guard galloped to the right side of the lane, throwing up a layup that was tightly contested by a Loyola-Chicago defender.
Halfway through the third quarter, Florida’s women’s basketball team felt momentum shifting in its favor.
Mike White sat silently in front of reporters Monday night, ruminating in disappointment.
On Sunday night, the Gators (5-3) celebrated their second road win of the year the same way as their first.
Freshman guard Mike Okauru received an inbounds pass 15 minutes into the first half and immediately knew what to do with the ball.
When Gorjok Gak walked onto the floor of the O’Connell Center, his first defensive play didn’t go as planned. Right away, the 6-foot-11 center fouled a driving MJ Walker, and Florida State extended its lead to 14-7.
Egor Koulechov’s tone of voice matched the way Florida played in an 83-66 home loss: soft.
As Funda Nakkasoglu missed a wide-open layup, she and teammate Haley Lorenzen shared a laugh. Her embarrassing miss didn’t matter, as the Gators (5-3) were just minutes away from sealing an 80-61 road victory over the Oklahoma Sooners (3-4).
In recent years, Florida State has wrangled Florida in multiple sports.
Six games into the season, Florida's offense is already garnering national attention.
Redshirt junior guard Funda Nakkasoglu drove to the paint from the right side of the three-point line. She beat her defender, cut inside the incoming forward and raised up for a layup attempt without opposition.
When Funda Nakkasoglu missed a three-pointer with 9:27 remaining in the second quarter, forward Haley Lorenzen used her 6-foot-3 frame to snatch an offensive rebound. She dribbled, retreated a few steps, and nailed a jumper from the elbow to extend a lead Florida would never give up.
Before the season began, UF coach Mike White questioned if the Gators can compete with “griminess” and resilience. The play of point guard Chris Chiozza has given him an answer.
On Nov. 20, former Florida Gator Bradley Beal made NBA history.
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.
Solutions by The State News
