Florida Travels to TCU for Big 12/SEC Challenge Matchup Andrew Hile UAA The Gators own a 2-1 record when participating in the Big 12/SEC Challenge. Florida at TCU Game Information: Dec. 5 | 2 p.m. ET Live Stream: Big XII Now on ESPN+ Radio: 98.1FM/850AM WRUF Live Stats: SIDEARM Game Notes: Florida | TCU FORT WORTH, Texas – The Gators will make it four-straight games on the road when they faceoff with Texas Christian as a part of the Big 12/Southeastern Conference Challenge on Sunday at 2 p.m. ET. Sunday's game will be streamed live on Big XII Now on ESPN+ with Ron Thulin and Fred Williams on the call. Kyle Crooks and Brittany Davis will take care of radio responsibilities on 98.1FM/850AM WRUF. Florida and TCU have met twice before, with each team picking up a victory on their home court. The Gators claimed the most recent meeting in 2007, defeating the Horned Frogs, 80-76, in overtime in the Stephen C. O'Connell Center. Sunday will mark the fourth time that Florida has competed in the BIG 12/SEC Challenge, holding a 2-1 record through three games. The Gators hold victories over Texas Tech (2018, 72-67) and Oklahoma (2017, 80-61), but most recently fell to Kansas in 2019, 76-66. Sunday's game will also provide an opportunity to bounce-back following a close loss at George Mason on Wednesday evening. In her homecoming, Kiara Smith tallied a team-best 19 points and six assists while Lavender Briggs recorded her 12th-career double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds. Despite the setback, the Orange & Blue are still getting impressive defensive performances during the second and third quarters throughout the season. The third quarter has seen the Gators at the top of their game, outscoring opponents 158-112. Florida has been almost as good heading into halftime, outscoring the opposition 154-129 in the second quarter. Partially responsible for the defensive success, Smith's defense has risen to an elite level during 2021-22, sitting at 10th nationally with a total of 24 steals on the year. She is also ranked 54th in the nation in steals per game, averaging 2.67 during each outing. Briggs will look to continue to inch closer to becoming the 27th-member of the 1,000-point club at Florida as she currently boasts 898 career points, just 102 away from joining the prestigious group. Florida Travels to TCU for Big 12/SEC Challenge Matchup - Florida Gators
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Gator Tales 288: Napier Hiring, Rivalry Win, Hoops, Zippy at Mic UAA Communications On this week's show, host Adam Schick welcomes FloridaGators.com senior writers Scott Carter and Chris Harry to discuss the new direction of the program, a chaotic rivalry win over the Seminoles, an action-packed week for men's basketball and the latest wave of moral questions posed by the shifting college football landscape in the PAT (1:35). Then, women's basketball transfer Zippy Broughton talks about transitioning from the Big Apple to Gainesville, mixing meditation with athletics and much more (37:08). Gator Tales 288: Napier Hiring, Rivalry Win, Hoops, Zippy at Mic - Florida Gators
• TCU continues its stretch of seven straight home games, hosting the Florida Gators this Sunday, Dec. 5, as part of the Big 12/SEC Challenge. Tip-off is set for 1 p.m. inside Schollmaier Arena. • TCU is 3-1 all-time in the Big 12/SEC Challenge, having won three straight dating back to the 2017-18 season. Last season’s Big 12/SEC Challenge against Missouri was canceled to due to COVID protocols. • Graduate player Lauren Heard moved up to No. 5 all-time in career scoring at TCU. She surpassed Lynn Davis’ total of 1,683 points scored from 1978-81. • Senior Okako Adika led TCU in scoring against Southeastern Louisiana this past Wednesday. She tallied a season-best 15 points and also led the team with eight rebounds. • The Horned Frogs have turned the ball over a league-low 77 times this season, which also ranks among the top-50 teams in the nation. TCU currently ranks No. 40 overall. • TCU drained a season-high 10 three-pointers in its win over Southeastern Louisiana on Wednesday. It marked the first time TCU has totaled 10+ 3-pointers on the year and the 11th time overall the past three seasons. FAST BREAKS GAME 7 | FLORIDA TCU (3-3, 0-0) vs. FLORIDA (6-3, 0-0) Dec. 5, 2021 | 1 p.m. Ed and Rae Schollmaier Arena Fort Worth, Texas TV: Big 12 Now on ESPN+ | Talent: Ron Thulin, Fred Williams Radio: KTCU | Talent: Jeff Williams Live Stats: GoFrogs.com Social Media: Twitter, @TCUWBasketball; Instagram, @TCUWBB 1 TCU’S PROJECTED STARTERS (based on last game) | AAHLIYAH JACKSON 5-10 | G | Gr. Ft. Smith, Ark. PTS REB AST STL 4.2 2.7 15 6 32 | PATRICIA MORRIS 6-7 | F | Sr. Duarte, Calif. PTS REB STL BLK 3.5 2.2 1 3 20 | LAUREN HEARD 5-10 | G | Gr. Denton, Texas PTS REB AST STL 16.2 8.3 22 11 4 | OKAKO “KOKO” ADIKA 6-0 | G/F | Sr. Holstebro, Denmark PTS REB AST STL 7.5 4.8 5 8 FLORIDA PROJECTED STARTERS 1 Kiara Smith G Gr. 12.1 3 Lavender Briggs G Jr. 12.4 11 Emanuely de Oliveria F Sr. 5.3 13 Floor Toonders F So. 1.3 15 Nina Rickards G Jr. 7.6 TCU TALE OF THE TAPE FLORIDA 67.7 PPG 68.2 70.0 OPP. PPG 64.1 .362 FG PCT. .421 .401 OPP. FG PCT. .405 .247 3PT FG PCT. .320 .343 OPP. 3PT FG PCT. .388 .667 FT PCT. .674 42.0 REBOUNDS/GAME 38.4 43.2 OPP. REBOUNDS/GAME 35.6 -1.2 REB. MARGIN +2.8 13.8 ASSISTS/GAME 12.4 8.0 STEALS/GAME 8.8
Game Recap: Women's Basketball | Sunday, December 5, 2021 | Andrew Hile Gators Down Horned Frogs in Big 12/SEC Challenge FORTH WORTH, Texas – Florida improved to 3-1 in the Big 12/SEC Challenge after defeating Texas Christian, 63-54, on Sunday for their first true road win of the season. The Gators (7-3, 0-0 SEC) were led offensively by Lavender Briggs who tallied a season-best 22 points, pushing her to 920 career points during her time at Florida. Jordyn Merritt and Kiara Smith also ended in double-figure with 12 points each. The floor general, Smith also ended with 11 rebounds and seven assists, giving her the 10th double-double of her career. It was a gritty performance for the Orange & Blue, who overcame a 2-of-18 (11.1%) shooting performance from behind the arc, ending 24-of-62 (38.7%) from the floor. The Horned Frogs (3-4, 0-0 Big 12) ended their afternoon 20-of-52 (38.5%) from the floor. Florida assisted on 18 of their 24 field goals. In the paint, UF held a 38-30 advantage on the glass, also ending with a 6-5 edge in second chance points. TCU did hold the 30-20 advantage in points in the paint. Defensively, Florida forced the Horned Frogs into 23 turnovers, leading to 19 points off of those giveaways. The Orange & Blue ended with nine steals to TCU's three, also ending with five blocks, led by a career-best three from Floor Toonders. Offense was easy to come by from the tip, with Florida racing out to an 11-8 lead at the under five media timeout. Smith, utilizing back-to-back floaters early, earned six of the Gators' first eight points. With 5:21 on the clock, Briggs connected on a three-pointer from the left elbow to record her 901st career point. The Horned Frogs would respond with a quick 4-0 spurt to regain a 12-11 advantage, but four-straight points from Zippy Broughton would put the Orange & Blue back on top with 2:43 on the clock. While the Gator defense managed to force four first quarter turnovers, TCU's defense managed to hold UF scoreless over the final two minutes to own an 18-17 lead after one. Briggs began to heat up at the start of the second frame, scoring Florida's first four points in a back-and-forth affair that both squads trade one-point leads until the 5:19 mark when Nina Rickards was able to cut her way through the lane and earn a pair of free throws, giving UF a 27-24 lead. Texas Christian would again answer, regaining the lead 28-27 following a tough layup with 4:05 left in the quarter. Over the final three minutes of the half the Gators would put together their largest run of the game, using an 8-0 run, with six points coming from Merritt, to take a 37-31 lead into the break. the rest at: Gators Down Horned Frogs in Big 12/SEC Challenge - Florida Gators
Game Recap: Women's Basketball | 12/5/2021 3:45:00 PM TCU Drops Big 12/SEC Challenge Contest to Gators Heard and Adika both net double-digit scoring figures in the loss FORT WORTH – The TCU Horned Frogs dropped its Big 12/SEC Challenge match-up with the Florida Gators, falling 63-54 at Schollmaier Arena on Sunday. The Horned Frogs (3-4) and Gators (7-3) tallied seven different ties and 15 different lead changes, but a late third quarter-surge helped Florida escape Cowtown with a win. Lauren Heard led TCU with 17 points, but Florida's Lavender Briggs tallied a game-high 22 points for the Gators. TURNING POINT In what was really a back-and-forth first half of play, Florida erased a two-point deficit and closed the second quarter with an 8-0 run and never looked back. The Gators led 37-31 at the break and then 47-40 in a low-scoring third quarter. TCU got back within four points of the visiting team, down 48-44 with 7:20 to play, but Florida's 8-0 run pushed the Gator lead to 12 points, on the way to sealing the victory. FROG FACTS • TCU starters vs. Florida: Aahliyah Jackson, Okako Adika, Lauren Heard, Michelle Berry and Patricia Morris. TCU fell to 3-3 overall with this starting line-up. • TCU committed a season-high 23 turnovers. • Florida won the rebounding battle, pulling down 38 boards to TCU's total of 30 rebounds. • TCU shot a season-low eight three-pointers in the game. It was the least amount of three-pointers a TCU has taken since attempting just seven points against Texas last season on March 7, 2021. • Both teams were 100% from the free throw line in the first half, with each teaming draining 6-of-6 from the charity stripe. TCU finished shooting .846 from the line (11-of-13), while Florida finished shooting .929 (13-of-14) overall. • TCU snapped a three-game winning streak over SEC teams in the Big 12/SEC Challenge. The Frogs are now 3-2 in the Challenge. • Heard scored 10+ points for the eighth time this season and 71st time in her career. She tallied at least 15 points in a game for the 48th time in her career. • Aahliyah Jackson tied a career-high with three steals in the game. It was her first game with three steals since three takeaways at home against Baylor last season (Jan. 2, 2021). • Okako Adika finished the game with 11 points. She has scored 10+ points in three straight games for the Horned Frogs. • Heard had one steal in the game and moved into sole-possession of the No. 3 spot all-time at TCU in career steals. She has totaled 238 steals as a Horned Frog. • Heard's 17 points on the game pushed her over the 1,700 points mark in her career. She has 1,705 career points, becoming just the fifth player in school history with at least 1,700 points. UP NEXT TCU will have a full week off before taking on the No. 17th-ranked Texas A&M Aggies next Sunday. Tip-off is set for 1 p.m. inside Schollmaier Arena. TCU Drops Big 12/SEC Challenge Contest to Gators - TCU Athletics
