With 1:28 remaining in the first half on Thursday, Ole Miss guard Diara Moore connected on a three-point field goal to extend the Rebels’ lead against the Gators to 50-33.
Moore’s three was the ninth by Ole Miss in the opening half. The Rebels shot 11 of 16 from behind the arc in an 88-81 victory, their first Southeastern Conference win of the season.
After the game, UF coach Amanda Butler expressed her displeasure with Florida catching Ole Miss on perhaps its best shooting night of the year. The Rebels had not shot better than 50 percent from three-point range prior to shooting 68.8 percent against the Gators.
“Clearly, we didn’t have everybody on their team pegged as a shooter,” Butler said. “But it didn’t really matter who was behind the three-point line tonight. Everything they put up fell.”
Ole Miss’ success continued a trend: UF’s three-point defense has been dismal this season.
Florida has allowed opponents to shoot 32.3 percent from behind the arc this year, which is 12th in the conference and 256th in the nation. In SEC play, opponents are shooting 38.1 percent from three-point range, leaving Florida’s defense at 13th in the conference.
“It certainly has been a weakness for us,” Butler said. “We’ve definitely struggled with awareness — not just who the hot shooter is, but where is she.”
Through seven conference games, opponents have made 45 of 118 tries against the Gators. Butler has pointed to Florida’s failure to guard the three-point line as the central factor in its poor performance. The team is currently tied for eighth in the SEC.
Florida will look to tighten up its three-point defense when it travels to Columbia, Mo., to face Missouri tonight at 8.
Missouri ranks fourth in the SEC with a 33.7 three-point percentage this season. Sophomore Morgan Eye paces the SEC with 3.8 three-pointers per game on 43.2 percent shooting.
“Everyone (on Missouri) can shoot,” redshirt freshman Carlie Needles said. “We have to guard everybody as a shooter. It doesn’t matter if it is Eye or their point guard or anyone else.”
Eye has drilled 80 of her 185 attempts. The 5-foot-9 guard has attempted 21 more threes than any other player in the SEC and averages 4.3 tries per contest against conference foes.
“She shoots the ball great,” Butler said. “She’s tall. She really understands how to get her shots within their offense. She knows how she is going to be played and still finds ways to create space.”
Missouri’s three-point prowess starkly contrasts to the Gators’ abysmal effort from behind the arc. Florida has made just 29.3 percent of its 331 attempts.
In conference play, the Gators have been even worse. UF is 22 of 87 from three-point range, a 25.3 percent rate that places it 13th in the conference.
Eye and Alabama guard Shafontaye Myers have each hit more threes in SEC play than the entire Gators squad.
“We’re a very good team that can score in a lot of different ways,” Butler said. “Right now, the three-point line is not one of those ways.”
Contact Phillip Heilman at pheilman@alligator.org.
Redshirt freshman guard Carlie Needles (4) dribbles during Florida’s 71-49 win against Fairfield on Nov. 9 in the O’Connell Center. Needles and the Gators have struggled to defend the three-point line.
