Florida Gators

STORRS, Conn. — The Gators turned up in a big way in their first season under head coach Kelly Rae Finley, most notably by advancing to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in six years.

However, by the time March Madness tipped off for the Gators on Saturday afternoon here at Gampel Pavilion, they hardly resembled the team that climbed as high as No. 15 in the national rankings in the regular season.

Undermanned and unable to hit shots in the opening half, Florida lost to UCF 69-52 in the first round to see its breakthrough season come to an end.

"It wasn't the outcome that we had hoped for," Finley said. "I thought we competed. I thought we competed well amongst the adversity we've had. We don't do excuses. We never will. We don't look for them. That was a very talented UCF team."

Meanwhile, the Knights (26-3) won their first NCAA Tournament game in program history, advancing to face UConn on Monday.

Playing without injured starters Kiara Smith and Jordyn Merritt, the Gators (21-11) fell behind by double-digits in the first half and trailed, 34-23, at halftime thanks to shooting 26.7 percent (8 of 30), including just 1 of 8 from beyond the arc.

The Gators remained within striking distance in the second half, going on a 8-0 run early in the third period to trim UCF's 14-point lead to 39-33 after a 3-pointer by Emanuely de Oliveira following an offensive rebound by Floor Toonders. On the Knights' ensuing possession, Tay Sanders missed a jumper. UF's Zippy Broughton got the rebound and raced up the court, missing a 3-pointer. UCF responded on the other end with a basket by Kaba Masseny to stop the bleeding.

Broughton, running the point for the Gators in place of the injured Smith, said it was a shot she would like to have back.

"I have to learn as a point guard,'' Broughton said. "I let the game slip out my fingertips. We started getting a [run], and I know I came in transition, shot a three, bricked it. I went in the huddle, apologized like, 'Yo, I was excited.' In those moments when we start cutting the lead like that, that's when we need to execute the best."

While Broughton's shot may have been ill-advised, the Gators were back in the game. They cut UCF's lead to 41-37 on a Nina Rickards jumper with 3:14 left in the third quarter. After the Knights scored and Rickards answered with a pair of free throws to make it 43-39, UCF went on a 8-0 run to cap the period and take a 51-39 lead.

The Knights took control the rest of the way for their first win in school history over the Gators. UCF had lost 25 previous meetings, the last coming in 2015. Rickards led the Gators with 17 points, and Broughton added 12 points, eight rebounds and six assists. UCF was led by senior forward Brittney Smith, who scored a game-high 26 points and grabbed six rebounds.

Smith's presence inside — she made 11 of 15 shots — negated the scoring of Rickards and Broughton from the outside for Florida. Making their third trip to the NCAA Tournament in four seasons, the Knights finally found a way to win.

"This is a goal that we've set for a few years now that we been trying to achieve,'' Smith said. "We've come short the last few years obviously, so like we're just really, really, really going to enjoy this win."

The Gators lost 6-foot-4 senior forward Faith Dut in the first half to an apparent ankle injury, adding to their injury woes.

Despite Saturday's loss, the Gators were one of the surprise teams in the country this season. The Gators were picked to finish near the bottom of the Southeastern Conference but went 10-6 in league play to earn a No. 5 seed in the SEC Tournament. However, the loss of Smith and Merritt for the NCAA Tournament proved too much to overcome.

The Gators lost five of their last six games after starting the season 20-6. Still, Finley offered nothing but respect for a team that showed its resiliency all season.

"It was unfortunate [to suffer the injuries],'' she said. "Our hope and goal today was to compete every possession. Sometimes we did that; sometimes we got a little too excited. It's different without Kiki on the floor. And to act like it's not is just kind of ignorant, right? You know, it is what it is.

"But I'm proud of our team. I stand by when I say I'm incredibly inspired by each and every one of them. I thought we had a very magical season."