GAINESVILLE, Fla. – After one of its best non-conference campaigns in years and a brief holiday break, the University of Florida women's basketball team (7-1) resumes game action Thursday, Dec. 31 when it kicks off its 2020-21 SEC season with a road challenge at No. 5 South Carolina (5-1). Tipoff is slated for 4 p.m. ET and the game will be broadcast to a national audience on ESPNU from Colonial Life Arena.
UF was set to travel to Vanderbilt for its SEC opener and South Carolina was due to host Ole Miss, but after postponements within their respective games, the teams both had an opening in their schedule. Thursday's matchup takes the place of the originally scheduled meeting between the teams which had been set for Feb. 25.
| Date: |
Thursday, Dec. 31 |
| Time: |
4 p.m. ET |
| Matchup: |
Florida (7-1) at No. 5 South Carolina (5-1) |
| Location: |
Columbia, SC | Colonial Life Arena |
| TV: |
ESPNU |
| Live Stats: |
Here |
| Radio: |
WRUF ESPN 98.1 FM/850 AM with Kyle Crooks and Brittany Davis |
| Notes: |
Florida | South Carolina |
The Gamecocks are the first of three-straight teams ranked in the top 12 of the AP Top 25 that the Gators will take on in their first three conference matchups. Florida is set to host No. 9 Texas A&M Sunday and No. 12 Mississippi State on Thursday, Jan. 7.
Florida last took the court on Monday, Dec. 21 when it cruised to an 89-64 win over visiting North Florida. Scoring 80 or more points for the fifth time this season, the Gators featured five double-figure scorers paced by
Lavender Briggs and freshman
Jordyn Merritt who each added 15. The Gators came out hot, scoring a season-best 31 first quarter points, and never looked back as they extended their record to 6-0 at home.
Florida has posted six straight wins, notching its longest winning streak since the 2015-16 season when it rattled off 12 consecutive wins. At 7-1, UF finished the non-conference slate with its best winning percentage (.875) in five years.
Senior guard Kiki Smith continues to turn heads in her senior campaign, leading the team in scoring (16.8), assists (3.8) and steals per game (2.8). She's also shooting an efficient .541 from the floor as a guard. Smith, who increased her scoring production by nearly 70% from her sophomore to junior season, is on track for another big leap forward as a senior. Her play has elevated her into the conversation as one of the best point guards in the conference.
Senior Kiki Smith
The sophomore standout Briggs, enters the game averaging 16.6 points to go with 6.1 rebounds and her consistency has been one of the reasons UF is off to such a strong start. She has scored 20 or more points four times already this year and has been in double figures in seven of UF's eight games. The former five-star recruit and SEC All-Freshman team honoree has shown she can facilitate Florida's offense as well as she has recorded five or more assists in three games this year including the seven she dished out against UNF.
The No. 5 Gamecocks enter the matchup sporting a 5-1 record with a pair of top 25 wins to their name. USC's lone setback came against No. 8 NC State as it dropped a 54-46 decision to the Wolfpack at Colonial Life Arena on Dec. 3. The Gamecocks average 85.2 points per game and allow just 56.8, good for the SEC's second best scoring margin at +28.3. The Gamecocks, always one of the league's toughest and tallest teams, average 52.0 rebounds per game and are outrebounding opponents by 19.2 which are both league-leading marks. USC, like Florida, is a stout defensive unit especially in terms of defending the three-point line as it is limiting teams to just .200 shooting from distance. South Carolina features a trio of double-figure scorers paced by sophomore Zia Cooke's 17.7 points per game average. Destanni Henderson, who leads the team at five assists per contest, also scores in double digits at 12.5 per game while Preseason All-SEC First Team selection Aliyah Boston checks in at 11.5. Boston, the 6-foot-5 sophomore, averages 9.7 rebounds per game.
The Gamecocks returned 69.4 of its program-record 82.0 points per game from last season. Under the direction of 13th year head coach Dawn Staley, USC has made it to the Elite Eight three times over the last five NCAA Tournaments including the 2017 National Championship run.
The series between the Gators and Gamecocks, which dates back to 1979, is deadlocked at 20-20. USC has claimed the last 12 meetings. In seven of the last eight meetings between the programs, South Carolina entered the matchup touting a top 10 ranking.
Notables
- The Gators lead the SEC in underclassmen scoring (380), games started by underclassmen (25) and are tied with Mississippi State for minutes played by underclassmen.
- Florida is in search of its first victory over a team ranked in the top 10 since Nov. 17, 2015 when it posted an 82-72 win over No. 6 Florida State at home.
- UF's first three SEC games will all be against teams ranked in the top 12 as it opens at No. 5 South Carolina and hosts No. 9 Texas A&M and No. 12 Mississippi St. The last time the Gators began an SEC slate with three-straight opponents ranked in the top 12 was 1986-87 when they started with No. 11 UGA, No. 8 Ole Miss and No. 2 Tennessee.
- UF is 19-23 all time in SEC lidlifters and is 7-14 in SEC openers played on the road.
- Thursday marks the second of nine nationally-televised games for Florida, airing on either SEC Network or ESPNU.
- Florida's reserves combined to score 36 points vs. UNF, a season-best mark. Florida is outscoring opponent's benches 188-150 on the year.
- UF has shown its offense can ignite fast as it has scored 25 or more points in seven quarters already this season. For perspective, last season it only did this six times. Florida scored 31 points in the opening quarter vs. UNF, the most it has scored in a stanza since Nov. 15, 2018 when it poured in 34 fourth quarter points at Mercer.
- At just 5'9, Nina Rickards leads the team in rebounding (7.6) and has corralled an eye-popping 32 rebounds over the course of the Gators' last two games, with a career-best 17 against Tarleton State and 15 more vs. UNF.
- The Gators over the past few seasons have been known as an impressive long-range shooting team, but in 2020-21 they have shown they are deft at defending the three-point arc. Florida is limiting opponents to just .188 shooting from distance, a top 5 mark nationally.
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