Florida Women’s Basketball Roundup: Grading Last Week, This Week’s Major Game
By Will Thomas
![Florida Gators guard KK Deans (3) celebrates with teammates after sinking a three pointer over Georgia Lady Bulldogs guard Alisha Lewis (23) in the second half. The Florida women's basketball team hosted the Georgia Bulldogs at Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center in Gainesville, FL on Sunday, January 8, 2023. The Bulldogs defeated the Gators 82-77. [Doug Engle/Ocala Star Banner]Gai Ufvsugawomensbball](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_1080,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape%2Fcover%2Fsport%2F75fb8ea9716edf2facbd3c6278264b9fc4ea778041752fd1183fed5b39c98a07.jpg "Florida Gators guard KK Deans (3) celebrates with teammates after sinking a three pointer over Georgia Lady Bulldogs guard Alisha Lewis (23) in the second half. The Florida women's basketball team hosted the Georgia Bulldogs at Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center in Gainesville, FL on Sunday, January 8, 2023. The Bulldogs defeated the Gators 82-77. [Doug Engle/Ocala Star Banner]Gai Ufvsugawomensbball")
Florida women’s basketball, while not having the season they’d like to be to this point, has a good chance to turn the tides this week.
They ended a four-game losing streak last Sunday with a big win over Vanderbilt, and have two winnable games this week before they head to Ole Miss in what will be a challenging road test.
The Gators split their two games last week, with a loss on the road against a very good Tennessee team, and then a home win against the struggling Commodores.
In that win over Vandy, Nina Rickards lead the Gators in scoring with 15, and Faith Dut grabbed 10 rebounds to go along with six points.
Two other Gators scored in double figures, as Alberte Rimdal scored 14 and Ra Shaya Kyle scored 13 to go along with her seven rebounds.
Moving on to this week, the Gators have a chance to keep their momentum rolling and improve on their SEC record.
They start on Monday with a game on the road at Auburn. The Tigers are 12-8 with a 2-6 record in the SEC, with their only two conference wins being their last two games against Ole Miss and Kentucky.
Florida will have to work to limit, Aicha Coulibaly, the Tigers’ best player. She leads the team in points per game (17.7), rebounds (5.9), and steals (2.5). This would be a big road win for the Gators as they look to start a winning streak of their own.
On Thursday, UF will return home to take on the Texas A&M Aggies. The Gators got the better of A&M in their first meeting, beating them by a score of 55-48, and look to do it again on their home floor.
In their first matchup, the Gators only shot the three ball at a 15.4% rate, going 2-13. They overcame those struggles to win the game on the road, but if they can find their stroke at home they should cruise to a second victory over the Aggies.
Then on Sunday, the Gators hit the road to go play the Ole Miss Rebels who are 17-4 and in 4th place in the SEC.
The Rebels had won nine games in a row before dropping two of their last three to Auburn and Alabama. If the Gators are to go on the road and win this game, they’ll have to win the rebounding battle. Madison Scott of Ole Miss leads the team with 8.8 rebounds per game, which is better than Florida’s best rebounded Ra Shaya Kyle (6.3).
If the Gators can be effective on the glass and keep Scott off the glass, they’ll be on their way to a road upset.
Keep up with Florida women’s basketball at Hail Florida Hail.