Special report on the Florida Gators women’s basketball team:
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Seven Gators scored in double-figures and every athlete who saw the floor scored in a 110-46 rout of Saint Leo during an exhibition contest on Wednesday evening.
Florida was paced offensively by Ra Shaya Kyle, who in her debut, scored 16 points to go along with 11 rebounds. Alberte Rimdal (15), Nina Rickards (14), Leilani Correa (13), Jordyn Merritt (10), KK Deans (10) and Frieda Bühner (10) also scored in double-figures.
As a team, the Orange & Blue shot an impressive 40-of-82 (48.8%) from the floor, including 8-of-23 (34.8%) from three-point range. Defensively, the Gators held the Lions to 15-of-64 (23.4%) from the field and just 4-of-23 (17.4%) from deep. In another impressive display, UF forced 22 turnovers to go along with 16 steals, led by Deans’ four.
On the glass, Florida was dominant with a 56-40 rebounding edge over the opposition, including 19 on the offensive end. Kyle led the way with 11, while a trio of Gators tallied seven (Bühner, Rickards and Taliyah Wyche).
The Gators wasted no time in getting the offense rolling on Wednesday evening, opening the game with an impressive reverse layup from Faith Dut off of a perfectly-placed lob from Kyle. That opening possession set the tone for a 15-2 run over the first 3:30 of the game, featuring five points from Rimdal during the spurt.
The offensive barrage didn’t let up following the opening minutes as the Gators, with freshman Bühner getting involved with four-consecutive points before the media timeout, giving the Gators a 22-6 lead. The Gators went on to open up a 33-7 first quarter lead.
Saint Leo managed to pull back within 25 with 7:17 on the clock during the second quarter, but that would be as close as the Lions would get before Florida pulled-away for a start-to-finish, 110-46 victory. The Florida lead swelled to as much as 66.
Up Next
The Gators will now turn their attention to the regular-season opener on Monday, Nov. 7, when Florida A&M visits Exactech Arena for a 5:30 p.m. ET tip.