Gators Continue Road Trip at Northwestern Friday (8 pm ET)

Friday, November 25

Evanston, IL

8 PM

Florida Gators

Northwestern (DH)

Dyandria Anderson is coming off a game where she recorded 9 assists and 8 rebounds.

Gators Continue Road Trip at Northwestern Friday (8 pm ET)

Thursday, November 24, 2016 | Women's Basketball

UF Notes (pre)

Florida and Northwestern are meeting for the first time.

By: Kathy Cafazzo

EVANSTON, Ill. – Florida is nearing the end of its six-day adventure when the team plays at Northwestern on Friday at Welsh-Ryan Arena, where tip-off is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET/7 p.m. CT.

The Gators will return to Gainesville on Saturday mid-afternoon to complete a 2,479 round-trip-miles adventure. The first stop on this two-game tour was Jonesboro, Arkansas, where the Gators defeated defending Sun Belt champion Arkansas State on Tuesday, 71-60.

Terrific Gator Trio

Eleanna Christinaki, Haley Lorenzen and Ronni Williams were UF's top three scorers in its first three games this season.
All score in very different ways!
Christinaki, a sophomore, is a guard who can shoot from anywhere on the court, is a fantastic passer (led UF in assists last year) and can create her own shot. She is contributing 22.3 points, 6.8 rebounds and 2.8 assists.
Lorenzen,a junior, has a great rapport with fellow frontcourt member Williams and knows how to get her the ball. Coach Butler stated that Lorenzen had extended her shooting range and Lorenzen backed that up by hitting the first three-pointer of her career during the win against Temple (Nov. 19). Entering the season, Lorenzen had not even attempted a three-pointer. She is averaging 15.5 points and 5.8 rebounds.
Williams, the lone four-year senior, runs the floor like a guard and has been seen on numerous occasions snaring a defensive rebound, dribbling the length of the court and sinking the layup. Williams, who has been UF's leading scorer each of the last two years, is averaging 13 points and a team-best 7.3 rebounds.

Returning from 2015-16

Florida returns seven letterwinners from last season, with only six of whom will suit up for the season.
UF also lost six players from last year's squad (five graduating, one transferred).
The Gators welcome five newcomers, however, only three will be in action this year.

The 2016-17 Gators

Florida's top three scorers from last year's SEC-leading scoring offense (77.4 ppg) return for the 2016-17 season, with senior Ronni Williams (11.1 ppg), sophomore Eleanna Christinaki (10.4 ppg) and junior Haley Lorenzen (9.3 ppg) pacing the Gators. Williams has been UF's leading scorer each of the last two seasons.

Quick Scout on the Wildcats

Friday will be the first time Florida and Northwestern meet on the hardwood.
The Gators are just 10-20 all-time against the current alignment of the Big Ten Conference, including a 2-7 mark under Head Coach Amanda Butler
NU's leading scorer and rebounder Nia Coffey has missed the last two games with an upper body injury but is expected to play Friday against the Gators.
Northwestern has had a different leading scorer in each of its first four games.
Seven of the Wildcats first eight games are at home in Welsh-Ryan Arena. The lone road game was at nearby DePaul, which they dropped, 89-66, in their most recent outing on Nov. 19.

Last Time Out:
Florida 71, Arkansas State 60 (Tue., Nov. 22 - Convo Center * Jonesboro, Ark.)

Eleanna Christinaki scored 23 points and led four Gators in double-figure scoring as Florida earned a hard-fought 71-60 victory at Arkansas State.
Every time throughout the game when Florida tried to distance itself on the scoreboard, A-State found a way reel the Gators back in, relying a lot on the long ball where it landed 9-of-22 during the game.
With the exception of the first bucket of the game, the Gators led wire-to-wire. A-State closed within one point early in the second half using four straight threes, before Christinaki, Haley Lorenzen and Tyshara Fleming scored during a 12-2 run and lifted the Gator lead back to double-figures.
ASU came answered with eight consecutive points and were back within three points, 50-47, with 9:29 remaining in the game.
The teams traded scores for the next two minutes and with the Gators holding a 54-51 edge and 7:23 left on the clock, the visitors closed the game on a 17-9 run to win their fourth game of the young season.

Gator Pronunciations:

ELEANNA CHRISTINAKI: L-ee-on-uh chris-tin-OCK-ee
TYSHARA Fleming: tie-SHEER-uh

Game Day at a Glance

Who: #16/20 Florida (4-0, 0-0 SEC) at Northwestern (3-1)
When: Fri., Nov. 25 * 8 pm ET/7 pm CT
Where: Welsh-Ryan Arena (8,117) in Evanston, Illinois

Game Coverage & More!

Radio: LIVE on ESPN Gainesville 95.3 with Adam Schick & Brittany Davis
Internet Audio: LIVE thru FloridaGators.com (FREE) [direct link]
Television: none
Streaming Video: BTN Plus on BTN2Go with LIVE link through www.btn2go.com and FloridaGators.com [direct link]
Internet Scoring: LIVE link through FloridaGators.com [direct link]

Opening Tip

Friday's game will be the first meeting between the two programs.
Friday's game is also a doubleheader with the Northwestern men's team, which plays host to Bryant at 2 pm ET/1 p.m.CT
The Gators are 3-4 all-time when playing games inside the state of Illinois. The last time the team played within the borders of the Land of Lincoln was on Nov. 18, 2010, when UF dropped a thrilling 74-73 decision at DePaul in the preseason WNIT 'elite eight.'
Florida is nearing the end of this six-day road trip, as the Gators will finally head back to Gainesville on Saturday and arrive mid-afternoon.