Gators Continue Road Swing at Mississippi State on Thursday Thursday's game against the Bulldogs marks the second of a three-game road swing. Andrew Hile UAA STARKVILLE, Miss. – Florida women's basketball will remain on the road this week when they travel to Starkville, Miss., for a matchup with Mississippi State on Thursday evening at 6:30 p.m. ET. Bart Gregory and Charlie Winfield will be on the call on SEC Network while Kyle Crooks and Brittany Davis will handle radio responsibilities on 98.1FM/850AM WRUF The No. 19/23 Gators (17-6, 7-3 SEC) enter Thursday's contest fresh off of a victory over No. 14 Georgia. Florida earned just their sixth win all-time in Athens when they defeated the Bulldogs, 54-51. The Gators snapped a nine-game losing skid to the Bulldogs dating back to Jan. 28, 2018 and pick up their first win over a ranked Georgia squad since a 51-48 win over No. 24 on Feb. 12, 2015. The Orange & Blue, who led the Bulldogs scoreless for the last 4:30 of the game, were led by Zippy Broughton and Jordyn Merritt with 11 points while Kiara Smith and Nina Rickards each added 10. Following the victories over No. 7 Tennessee and No. 14/11 Georgia, Florida entered the top 25 for the first time since December 2016. The Gators entered at 19th in the AP poll and 23rd in the Coaches Poll. Smith earned her second SEC Player of the Week honor following the two victories over No. 7 Tennessee and No. 14 Georgia last week. Over the two games, Smith averaged 17.6 points, 6.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 2.5 steals per game. Smith was also named SEC Player of the Week on January 25. With the victory over No. 14 Georgia, Florida has now defeated five ranked teams in a season for the first time since the 2005-06 season when the Gators downed No. 18/16 Temple, No. 19 Vanderbilt, No. 21/23 Kentucky, No. 2/3 LSU and No. 5 Tennessee. The victory also marks the first time since the 2003-04 season that the Gators have defeated five ranked SEC opponents in a season. That season UF defeated No. 22 Vanderbilt, No. 11/9 Georgia, No. 24 Vanderbilt, No. 19/15 Georgia, and No. 18/20 Auburn. The Gators are now one of just seven teams in the nation to have defeated at least five top 25 teams. They join South Carolina, Michigan, Louisville, North Carolina State, Stanford and Tennessee as the only teams to have accomplished that feat. Mississippi State enters Thursday evening with a 14-7 (5-4 SEC), most recently defeating Auburn, 65-60, in Auburn, Ala. The Bulldogs are on a three-game winning streak and hold a 27-24 advantage over Florida in the all-time series.
MSU PREVIEW: Big Week for Women’s Basketball Begins with Home Contest vs No. 19 Florida MSU Athletics STARKVILLE – A stretch of four games in eight days begins on Thursday when the Mississippi State women's basketball squad hosts No. 19 Florida. The game will have significant implications on the SEC standings that have just two games separating teams three through nine. Tip-off between the Bulldogs and Gators is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Series History • Mississippi State leads the all-time series 26-25 with a 15-8 advantage when the game is played in Starkville. • The Bulldogs enter Thursday winners of the last eight games in the series, most recently in last year's contest on Jan. 7 when MSU defeated Florida, 68-56. • Prior to State's 8-game winning streak, Florida had won nine in a row. • The series has been one of streaks. Only 12 times in the series history has a team not won at least two games in a row, and it hasn't happened since the 2007-08 season. Hot Shooting From Three • Over the last three games, the Bulldogs have been firing on all cylinders from behind the arc. • MSU has been shooting 56% (30-54) from three the last three games after shooting just 26% (105-395) in the first 18 games of the season. • A big reason for the turnaround has been the combination of Aislynn Hayes and Caterrion Thompson. In the last three games Hayes is shooting 71% (10-14) from three while Thompson is shooting 58% (11-19). Hayes' percentage is up from 20% and Thompson is up from 31%. Myah Taylor, All-Time Career Lists • With 402 career assists, Taylor ranks 7th on the all-time career assists leaderboard at Mississippi State. She recently surpassed Polly Branch (391 assists) and Laura Springer (392 assists). • Taylor is just five assists shy of passing LaCharlotte Smith (406 assists) for 6th on the all-time list. • She is 46 assists away from cracking the top 5. • With 182 career steals, Myah passed Morgan Williams (2015-18) for 10th on the all-time steals list at MSU. In 9th is Nitra Perry (1997-00) with 186, and in 8th is Angela Harris (1997-00) with 189 career steals. 211 career steals would move Taylor into the top 5 all-time. STATE by the Numbers • Mississippi State averages 72.3 points per game which is the third-best points per game average in the SEC • State is ranked 7th in the country in blocked shots (131) and third in blocked shots per game (6.2) • MSU's 42% field goal percentage on the year is the sixth-best mark in the SEC. • The Bulldogs are averaging just 11.6 turnovers per game, the fifth-fewest in the country. Anastasia Hayes in SEC Play • Annie is leading the team, and less than a point from leading the SEC, in scoring (21.9 ppg). • She is 5th in the field goal percentage (52%) and 3rd in free throw percentage (86%). • Ranks 13th in assists per game (3.1) and 4th in minutes played per game (37 mpg). Get-To-Know Florida • Florida enters Thursday as one of the hottest teams in the country. The Gators have won seven of their last eight games, with five of those wins against teams ranked in the top 25. • They earned their first top 25 ranking since 2016 when they debuted at No. 19 in the latest AP poll. • This past weekend, they defeated No. 7 Tennessee and No. 14 Georgia on the road. • UF is 17-6 on the year and 7-3 in the SEC and is led by interim head coach Kelly Rae Finley. • They are led by Kiara Smith, averaging 14.9 points, 5.3 rebounds and 4.4 assists per game. • Florida will have a considerable size advantage on Thursday with five players 6-2 or taller and all but three players on their roster above 5-10. • As a team, they average 69.0 points per game and shoot 41% from the field. Promotions • Gator Bites from Oby's of Starkville • It will be women's basketball's annual "Maroon Game" and the team will be wearing their Maroon jersey's. Up Next Mississippi State begins a stretch of four games in eight days, starting with Florida on Thursday. The stretch of games will continue on Sunday when State hosts Ole Miss at 3 p.m.
It's weird the parallels between these 2 teams. Both with interim coaches. Both playing extremely well since their respective "best player" left the team. I expect it will be a very tough game. It's funny that we think they have a better record against us than they do lol
It’s hard to win on the road in the SEC, especially after you’ve just been ranked for the first time in forever! keep ‘em focused Kelly!!!
Playing tough. This is going to be another grind. Hopefully someone can give us a nice spark in the 4th.
