Florida guard Brylee Bartram caught the ball in the right corner with her back to the hoop. She immediately turned around and threw it up.
Count it.
A few possessions later, the freshman caught it at the top of the arc and let another one fly.
Swish.
She then received a pass from fellow freshman guard Lavender Briggs, who was double-teamed. Bartram shot from downtown for a third time early in the first quarter.
Bucket.
Bartram’s 3-for-3 start from beyond the arc set up the Gators nicely in their 75-67 win over Missouri (6-18, 3-8 SEC) on Sunday in Columbia, Missouri. With the victory, Florida improved to 14-11 on the season and 5-7 in the SEC.
It was a career day for Bartram. The Tampa native’s 6-for-11 three-point shooting night was good for 18 points against the Tigers. That was seven points better than her previous career-high.
Her hot shooting extended to two of her teammates in the second half. Briggs performed well after a sluggish first half to finish the game with 18 points. She was only 2 for 8 from beyond the arc, but her all-around performance was impactful. The Provo, Utah, native sunk four of her six free throws and collected six rebounds.
Forward Zada Williams was also involved offensively. The redshirt senior had 15 points on 6-for-9 shooting to be the third Gator in double-figure scoring for the game. Most of Williams’ contribution, like Briggs, was in the latter twenty minutes. Eleven of her 18 came in the second half, including four from the free throw line.
Bartram’s hot start allowed for a strong finish from the other two. Her spreading of the floor created space for Briggs to attack the basket during a brutal shooting night and for Williams to work in the paint.
Florida point guard Kiara Smith had just five points on the night. The junior hit two free throws on the day and made one shot out of six attempts from the floor. Still, Briggs, Bartram and Williams shouldered plenty of the scoring load to stack the win column a little higher for the orange and blue.
Follow Graham Marsh on Twitter @GrahamMarshUF. Contact him at gmarsh@alligator.org.
