Gators Overwhelm Savannah State in Record-Setting Night

Thursday, November 23

Savannah, GA

7 PM

Florida Gators

3-3

Savannah State

1-4

Florida

Savannah State

A terrific crowd of family, friends and fans cheered on the Gators on Thanksgiving night.

Gators Overwhelm Savannah State in Record-Setting Night

Thursday, November 23, 2017 | Women's Basketball

Box Score Postgame Video with Sydney Searcy Final Box (PDF)

Sophomore Delicia Washington recorded the third triple-double in program history.

By: Kathy Cafazzo

SAVANNAH, Ga. – It sure didn't look like a team that was playing its third game in three days, as Florida used another record-setting, long-range performance and Delicia Washington's triple-double to defeat Savannah State, 90-40, in the final game of the Savannah Invitational played at the Savannah Civic Center Thursday evening.

With 6:57 remaining in the game, Washington found senior Haley Lorenzen under the basket where she finished the play and helped complete just the third triple-double in program history. Washington finished the game with 12 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists, joining Gator All-Americans and WNBA first-round draft picks DeLisha Milton and Vanessa Hayden as the only others to accomplish the feat.

There were a number of individual milestones and accomplishments during the game and the majority of those contributed toward Florida sinking 17 three-pointers, passing the old standard of 15 the team recorded against Richmond two days ago.

Sophomore Sydney Searcy led all scorers with a career-high 20 points, thanks in part to a 6-of-12 effort from the three-point arc, as UF converted 17-of-39 on the night. Search had tied her then-career best of 11 points in last night's game against Stetson.

Lorenzen finished with 18 points and eight boards, while Paulina Hersler added 17 points and nine rebounds.

Freshman Jalaysha Thomas collected a career-high and team-high-tying 12 rebounds along with seven points, as the Gators outrebounded the Tigers, 58-27.

How it Happened

Florida scored the first seven points of the game and took leads of 16-2 and 22-4 in the first quarter and never looked back.

Four different Gators combined for a 9-of-22 three-point effort during the initial half, with sophomore Sydney Searcy leading the way with a 4-of-6 performance and bested her career-high with 14 points during those first 20 minutes.

Savannah State had just five turnovers in the first half, but could only convert 13.3 percent (4-20) of its shots from the floor.

Florida converted 49.2 percent overall from the floor and hit 13-of-15 free throws.

The Tigers hit 21.9 percent overall, 12.5 percent (2-16) from three and 10-of-14 from the line.

3 Triple-Doubles

Delicia Washington recorded the third triple-double in program history with 12 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists.
The others were posted by All-Americans DeLisha Milton vs. Bethune-Cookman on Feb. 2, 1994 (11 points, 11 rebounds, 10 steals); and Vanessa Hayden vs. Kent State on Dec. 12, 2001 (17 points, 12 rebounds, 10 blocks)

Milestones Topped During the Game

Haley Lorenzen scored her 900th career point
Delicia Washington scored her 400th career point and collected her 200th career rebound
Paulina Hersler scored her 300th career point
Sydney Searcy scored her 100th career point
Dyandria Anderson collected her 300th career rebound

Quotes from the Court – UF head coach Cameron Newbauer
His general assessment of the game:
"We had a number of players gain some confidence tonight. A triple-double for Delicia Washington, someone who the last couple of days has struggled shooting from the floor in terms of her shot percentage but comes out tonight with a triple-double and had some really, really on-time passes. Hats off to her, but also her teammates. If her teammates don't make shots, she doesn't get 10 assists. We had 21 assists on 30 field goals – that's terrific.

"Sydney Searcy – a career night tonight."

On Sydney Searcy's performance:
"She's done a really good job of focusing on shooting the deep ball and her form is really, really good. When her feet are set and she gets her eyes on the rim, I think she can knock down any of them. Now, we're going to work on extended her range a little bit because she's gained that confidence just in the past couple games here. She's done a terrific job. Any time you hit six threes in a game, that's not a fluke."

Numbers of Note

For the second time in three days, Florida reset its three-point record book. The Gators knocked down 15 against Richmond on Tuesday before tonight's 17 treys
Six different Gators hit at least one three-pointer, including freshmen forwards Jalaysha Thomas and Mikayla Hayes
All nine Gators who dressed out for the game, scored in the game
UF dished 21 assists on 30 field goals.
This was the third time in six games the Gators have tallied double-figure three-pointers.
The Gators have totaled 66 threes through six games and hitting 37.3 percent of their long-range attempts.

Top Tigers

Kaylee Allen scored a team-best 12 points, while Heniaya Moton added 11 points and Alexxus Sowell collected 19 rebounds.

Updated Team Records and more:

Florida: 3-3
Savannah State: 1-4
Florida vs. Savannah State: 6-game Series: UF leads 4-2 (UF Home: 3-0; Away: 0-2; Neutral: 1-0)
Last Meeting: Nov. 24, 2015: Gators own 99-34 in Gainesville
Savannah State's last win in the series: 68-58 on Dec. 4, 2014 in Savannah

What's Next for the Gators

Florida returns to Exactech Arena and plays host to Jacksonville on Tue., Nov. 28 at 7 p.m.
Florida vs. Jacksonville: 4-Game Series: UF leads 3-1 (UF Home: 3-0; Away: 0-1; Neutral: 0-0)
Streak: Florida has won three consecutive games vs. the Dolphins
Special Promotions for Tuesday's Game: Pumpkin Pie Giveaway - First 250 fans receive a slice of pumpkin pie; $1 Day - $1 promotion, all general admission tickets are $1 and select concessions items are available for $1.

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