KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — After opening the season with wins in nine of 12 games, the Florida women’s team had its losing streak extended to three Thursday night after an 88-81 loss at Tennessee.
The Gators (9-6, 0-3) took their largest lead in the first half at 35-23 and appeared poised to pull an upset, but the Vols tied the score at halftime at 43.
Coach Kelly Rae Finley’s team lost 89-66 vs. No. 1 South Carolina a week ago and followed up with a 63-57 loss at Vanderbilt on Sunday.
“It’s the hand that we drew and, in our program, we don’t make excuses,” Finley said about the difficult SEC stretch. “To play this schedule is good for us. We don’t want handouts, and we don’t want it to be easy. … The harder the situation gets the better we get, the more we thrive and that’s what I expect to see from our team moving forward.”
Aliyah Matharu led Florida with 23 points. Leilani Correa had 12 points followed by Alberte Rimdal and Zippy Broughton with 11 each. Laila Reynolds added 9 points and 8 rebounds.
The Vols (10-5, 3-0), who were led by Jewel Spear and Sara Puckett with 20 points each, entered the fourth quarter trailing 63-59 but shot 18 free throws in the frame. They were 26-for-30 overall from the stripe.
“I know after this loss and after the losses we have had here in SEC play we are going to make sure we keep a level head,” Broughton said. “We are going to practice [Friday] and know that it’s not about the losses. We have to keep getting better each and every day.”
The Gators return home Sunday for a game vs. Georgia (10-6), which lost 81-63 to Alabama on Thursday.