Florida shot just 7-27 from the field in the first half, and the Gators trailed by 10 at halftime. UF trailed by 12 after the third quarter, and Ole Miss never looked back in the final period of play.
The Rebels outscored the Gators 25-11 in the final period to walk away with a blowout victory.
The Florida Gators (14-9, 3-7 SEC) fell to the Ole Miss Rebels (19-5, 8-3 SEC) 68-42 Sunday. Ole Miss outscored Florida by 16 points in the second half. UF was outrebounded by 14 for the game.
The Gators shot just 24% from the field and committed 19 turnovers. Senior guard KK Deans was the only Florida player to score double digits with 10 points on 1-11 shooting but 7-10 from the charity stripe.
Florida sophomore guard Alberte Rimdal made a 3-pointer to open the scoring for the Gators. Senior forward Faith Dut converted from long range as well to give Florida an early 6-2 lead.
The senior forward lofted a pass to the St. John’s transfer, and Correa finished the layup.
Ole Miss senior center Rita Igbokwe made a layup to give the Rebels their first lead of the game. Junior forward Madison Scott drained a mid-range jump shot and drew a foul. Scott missed the ensuing free throw, but the Rebels took a three-point lead into the second quarter.
Igbokwe battled for an offensive rebound and drew a foul on her putback attempt. The Pittsburgh transfer split her free throw attempts to give Ole Miss a seven-point lead.
Florida sophomore forward Tatyana Wyche attacked off the dribble and drew a foul of her own.
Wyche made both free throws to cut the lead to five heading into a media timeout. Rebels junior forward Snudda Collins sank a desperation 3-pointer at the end of the shot clock to give Ole Miss an eight-point lead.
Florida’s offense struggled to convert chances after the opening minutes of the first quarter. The Gators missed 13-straight field goals before Correa hit a shot from close range with less than four minutes left in the second quarter. Deans banked in her own desperation triple to cut the lead to five.
Ole Miss senior guard Marquesha Davis made a wide-open layup and drew a foul. Davis converted the three-point play, and the Rebels took a 10-point lead into halftime.
Florida junior center Ra Shaya Kyle scored inside early. Ole Miss struggled with turnovers in the early stages of the second half, but the Gators couldn’t capitalize on them. Correa hit a jumper to cut the lead to eight after a lengthy Florida drought.
Both teams’ offenses struggled to score throughout the third quarter. Scott fought for an offensive rebound and scored a putback to give Ole Miss a 12-point lead into the fourth quarter.
Senior guard Angel Baker made a layup to open the scoring for the Rebels in the final period. She hit a 3-pointer on the next possession to push Ole Miss’s lead to 17.
The home team ran away with the game throughout the fourth quarter. Graduate student guard Myah Taylor made a wide-open layup to push the lead to 19, forcing Florida head coach Kelly Rae Finley to call timeout.
Davis hit an open jump shot to give the Rebels a 21-point lead. The Gators started pressing Ole Miss to close the gap, but Florida’s defense couldn’t stop the Rebels from running away with the game.
The Gators return to Gainesville Thursday to face the Mississippi State Bulldogs. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m., and the game will be broadcast on the SEC Network.
Contact Topher Adams at tadams@alligator.org. Follow him on Twitter @Topher_Adams.
Topher Adams is a fourth-year communications major and in his fourth semester with the Alligator. He previously covered football, baseball and women's basketball. He also enjoys professional lacrosse and Major League Soccer.
