Gators Women’s Hoops opens SEC schedule with No. 5 South Carolina – ESPN 98.1 FM

Gators Women’s Hoops opens SEC schedule with No. 5 South Carolina – ESPN 98.1 FM

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The Florida women’s basketball team (7-1) returns to play fifth-placed South Carolina (5-1) in Columbia on Thursday. The complaint is at 16h and the game will air on ESPNU.

The game marks both teams’ first SEC dispute, but that match was a replacement for games postponed due to COVID-19. The Gators intended to play at Vanderbilt, and South Carolina was scheduled to host Ole Miss. The games were postponed, however, leaving an open day on both teams’ schedules.

Hot start for crocodiles

The Gators are entering the game fresh from their best off-season start in five years, with a winning percentage of 0.875. His only flaw was a six-point loss to his rival in the state of Florida. The Gators faced other enemies in the state, easily defeating FAU and northern Florida.

This team’s six-game winning streak will be put to the test, as Florida will see three teams in the top 12 start playing in the SEC.

So, what has changed for the Gators and how will they continue this excellent season? On the one hand, Coach Cam Newbauer’s team can score. The Gators have averaged 80.5 points and have scored 80 points in five games to this point, after doing this just four times in the past season.

Senior redshirt Kiki Smith leads the team with 16.8 points, 3.8 assists and 2.8 steals per game. Florida also has a group of qualified young people in their second year, Lavender Briggs, Faith Dut and Nina Rickards.

These players will have their hands full against a South Carolina team that seems to repeat itself as a SEC champion after finishing last year’s shortened season in first place in the national ranking.

An SEC Juggernaut

The SEC has analyzed Gamecocks in recent years. Head coach Dawn Staley took South Carolina to the Elite Eight three times in the past five NCAA tournaments and an NCAA championship in 2017.

They started action in December with a bitter 54-46 loss to NC State number eight, but recovered with two victories in which they overcame opponents by a margin of 186-106.

Staley’s Gamecock teams are known to hit the ball well, and that team is no exception. South Carolina ranks third in the country, with 52.0 rebounds per game and a +19.2 rebound margin. Both brands lead the SEC.

This team effectively combines that physicality with the score. Gamecocks feature three players averaging double-digit numbers in the score and eight players averaging more than seven points per game. Sophomore student Zia Cooke leads the team with 17.7 points per game and takes first place in the SEC with a 55.2% 3-point percentage.

The Matchup

The series between these two teams is tied at 20-20. But Gamecocks are sporting a streak of 12 consecutive wins against the Gators and have not lost to a Florida team at home since 2011. In other words, a Gators victory would be a historic achievement.

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