Florida and North Carolina A&T meet for the first time.PANAMA CITY, Florida – Florida travels 225 miles West to play North Carolina A&T at Billy Harrison Field House on the campus of Gulf Coast State College on Sun., Dec. 11
First-Time Florida Foes
- North Carolina A&T is one of five teams on UF's schedule that the Gators will play for the first time.
- The other first-time foes: Chattanooga, Northwestern, Wofford and Southeastern Louisiana.
A Glance at the Aggies
- Dana Brown leads NCAT in scoring (14.3 ppg), with the bulk of her scoring coming behind the arc. The redshirt-senior guard is hitting 37.1 percent (26-70) from beyond the arc, with 26 of her 30 made fields goals coming from deep. She also connected on 70 percent (14-20) from the line.
- Four different Aggies have been the team's leading scorer in a game this year.
- Only two of the team's seven games have come at home.
- NCAT played Auburn at home on Nov. 17 and dropped the 68-36 decision. The Gators open their SEC season against Auburn on January 1.
- In his four previous seasons coaching at his alma mater, head coach Tarrell Robinson has guided the Aggies to three postseason appearances, including last year's NCAA Tournament berth after winning the MEAC Tournament title.
Gator Watch
- Ronni Williams, Florida's lone four-year senior, runs the floor like a guard and has been seen on numerous occasions snaring a defensive rebound, dribbling the length of the court and sinking the layup.
- Williams, who has been UF's leading scorer each of the last two years, is averaging 15.9 points and a team-best 8.1 rebounds.
- She has three double-doubles this year; 16 in her career.
What Just Happened
- Florida enters Sunday's game having lost its last two games, with both coming against nationally-ranked opponents. The Gators dropped a six-point decision at No. 24 Arizona State on Dec. 4 and a 25-point loss at No. 7 Florida State on Thu., Dec. 8.
- North Carolina A&T has had 11 days to work on reversing its current five-game skid. Four of those five games have come on the road and included games against Auburn and West Virginia, as well as a five-point setback to Marist.
Notes from Florida's Last Game
- #7 Florida State 83, #23/25 Florida 58 (Dec. 8 in Tallahassee, Fla.)
- Florida battled down a double-digit deficit to six points before No. 7 Florida State ripped off a 34-15 run in final 13 minutes for an 83-58 win.
- This was the first time in the 73-game series that both instate rivals entered the game nationally ranked and for the first seven minutes and late into the 2nd quarter it definitely took shape as such.
- FSU used a 10-0 run near the end of the first quarter and held a 22-15 lead.
- Florida battled back in the second quarter and cut its deficit to five on several occasions, the last coming with 1:10 left in the first half after Haley Lorenzentook a feed from Eleanna Christinaki and the Gators were within 34-29.
- The Seminoles mounted another push to end this frame and scored the final five points and took a 39-29 halftime lead.
(Gator) Tale of the Tape
Florida
- Points Per Game: 73.0
- Scoring Defense: 62.1
- Scoring Margin: +10.9
- Rebounding Margin: +6.8
- FG%: 47.3%
- 3FG%: 27.3%
- FT%: 64.4%
- Scoring: Christinaki, 17.6
- Rebounding: Williams, 8.1
- Assists: Anderson, 4.6
North Carolina A&T
- Points Per Game: 57.6
- Scoring Defense: 69.7
- Scoring Margin: -12.1
- Rebounding Margin: -1.6
- FG%: 32.5%
- 3FG%: 28.4%
- FT%: 62.6%
- Scoring: Brown, 14.3
- Rebounding: Tyler, 5.3
- Assists: Kilpatrick, 3.3
What's Next?
- Following the game, the Gators will take a nine-day break from competition and turn their attention exclusively to the classroom, where final exams are being held December 10, 12-16.
- Commencement is Dec. 16-17 and will be held in the newly renovated Exactech Arena at the O'Connell Center. It's the first event in the building that's also the game day home of Gator Basketball!
- The Gators return to the court on Dec. 20 and 21 to compete in the Florida Sunshine Classic in Winter Park, Fla. Florida plays Indiana on Tuesday at 7:45 p.m. and then Florida A&M on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m.
Final Four in Florida
- Including Sunday's game against North Carolina A&T, Florida has just three more games remaining of its season-opening 12-game road trip.
- At least the last four games of this adventure all will be played within the state of Florida.
Half Way Home
- The Gator's Nov. 30 game against Wofford was Florida's sixth of a season-opening 12-game road trip due to the $64.5 million renovations being done to Exactech Arena at the O'Connell Center.
- The Gator's first home game of the season will be on Dec. 28 against Southeastern Louisiana.
Game Day Information
- Who: #23/25 Florida (6-3, 0-0 SEC) vs. North Carolina A&T (1-6)
- When: Sun., Dec. 11 * 3 pm ET/2 pm CT
- Where: Billy Harrison Field House * Panama City, Florida
- Facility Notes: played at Gulf Coast State College (5230 West Highway 98, Panama City, FL)
Game Notes
- Florida [direct link]
- N.C. A&T – do not post online
Game Coverage & More!
- Radio: LIVE on ESPN Gainesville 98.1FM/850AM with Adam Schick & Brittany Davis
- Internet Audio: LIVE thru FloridaGators.com (FREE) [direct link]
- Television: none
- Streaming Video: SEC Network + with Adam Schick & Brittany Davis [direct link]
- Internet Scoring: Sidearm stats [direct link]
Opening Tip
- Sunday's game is a special Play 4Kay celebration and both teams will help raise awareness by wearing PINK uniforms for the game.
- Gulf Coast State College will be donating all monies collected at the gate from the game to the Kay Yow Foundation.
- Sunday's game is the first meeting between the Gators and Aggies.
- N.C. A&T has not played since a road loss at Appalachian State on Nov. 30 - 11 days ago. UF has played four games during that span.
- Sunday's game is Florida's 10th on the road this season, as the Gators are nearing the end of their 12-game season-opening road trip due to the $64.5 million renovations to its home arena.
UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA ATHLETIC MEDIA RELATIONS
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