(WBK) OGT-WBB Florida vs Prairie View A&M 11/30/2022 5:30 PM

Rickards turning it on in the 4th thank goodness!

 

Up 10 with 4:46 to go.

 

68-53 Gators win!

 

Great..I am happy they played better in the 4th...

 

The Gators have a chance to be really good if they can cut down on these turnovers. They throw too many passes that have no chance.

 

A few thoughts...

Correa was obviously not herself and limited, so kudos to her for what she did bring.

Deans, Rickards, and Rimdal continued with solid play, though we have to get Rimdal more confident to take a shot after missing one. There is sometimes a hesitancy when she has a shot, and she should always be a green light when open.

Warren was outstanding on the boards (14 I think) and deserves increased time for sure.

The twins showed some things I like. I really think Taliyah will be a force in time and want her getting more minutes. Tatyana definitely upped the energy and got some boards tonight.

Merritt was out for "personal reasons"... hopefully that is nothing major going on.

Overall we have to get better on turnovers. We are way too careless, especially passing into the post IMO. I feel like we are still trying to play too big. Yes, having a bunch of tall girls is nice... but having several out there at once that can't really handle the ball well takes away from what makes us click at our best. Go 4 guards, especially with Jeriah and Jordyn (hopefully) able to play the 4th spot and 1 true post at a time. Not sure we have a dominant post presence sadly, but hopefully we can find the hot player on certain nights there with the twins, Dut, and Kyle. Get up and down the court, press... it's what we succeeded with last season and I would like to see more speed and aggression on defense.

The last thing is something I saw a bit last year. I really wish Kelly would get a little more fire on the sidelines. I get the whole situation prior to her promotion, but I feel like we are maybe too nice on the sidelines at times. Your team has 7 turnovers in 5 minutes or refs blowing obvious calls that are hurting your team... light em up!
Think that would help with the energy during the lulls and cut out the turnovers by letting the players hear it and bench them when they are playing sloppy.

All that said... 7-1 is NICE, though the competition has been a bit light. The potential is definitely there if the team can find consistency... and get to full strength!

@dayton, @Miami, and neutral with Oklahoma coming up means that schedule is about to go up a few notches and then SEC play starts. Need to clean it up before then.

 

I saw glimpses of Jeriah Warren last season that made me think she could be a star once she got more experience. She's on the verge of breaking out, I think. Sophomore jump.

 

Kelly described Merritt's status as a "leave of absence" in the post-game presser which doesn't sound like a return is at all imminent. Can only hope she's okay and can come back at some point.

I assume Rimdal will also probably be out for a bit in concussion protocol after that brutal collision late.

At least Taliyah came back in this one, but overall our depth and injury situation is extremely concerning. Especially since we look about a month behind development-wise already and many of our key players are likely not practicing much.

 

I do have some major concerns at the moment The Merritt situation is odd....just lost Bunher... and though we signed one great player we have vastly undersigned two years in a row at this point. We need some answers and soon.