After racking up four consecutive victories, the Florida Gators were unable to defeat the North Carolina Tar Heels at the prestigious Jumpman Invitational on Wednesday night.
Florida (7-5) suffered a 77-57 loss to No. 23 North Carolina (11-2) at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte.
This marked the first meeting between the two squads since Nov. 23,1997, in which Florida came out victorious. UNC, however, was able to get its revenge just over 27 years later.
From the second the whistle blew, the Gators struck first with a lay up by freshman guard Liv McGill. However, after maintaining a 4-4 draw for about three minutes, UNC began to dominate Florida on all areas of the court.
Florida’s first half struggles were evident, as Wednesday marked the lowest points UF has scored in any half this season. Senior center Ra Shaya Kyle, who had posted four consecutive double-doubles and 20 points last game, went scoreless in the first half.
However, in the second half of the game, the Gators picked up their pace and regained some momentum. Florida increased its shooting percentage from 27% to 32%, compared to UNC’s decreasing from 55% to 41%. Florida also narrowed its scoring gap by adding 17 more points in the second half than the first.
Once again, McGill led the Gators in scoring with 15 points on the night. Sophomore guard Laila Reynolds followed with 10 points of her own.
Kyle found her rhythm better in the second half, scoring eight points while going 4-of-5 on her free throws, despite falling short of double-digits in the scoring column.
Junior forward Alexia Gassett served as the main contributor for the Gators with eight points in the first half on 4-of-5 shooting. McGill trailed behind with six points on 3-of-12 shooting.
The Tar Heels three-point shooting gave them the edge, as they converted on 36% of their three-pointers compared to the Gators’ 10% in the first half. Florida went into halftime down 41-20.
The Gators got their spark back in the third quarter, securing a 14-0 run and scoring 20 points in the period.
Florida continued to fight until the end of the game, as the team refused to go down without a fight.
Freshman guard Daviana Mindoudi Ongbakahoumb used her 6’1 frame to notch her second three-pointer of the season. Senior forward Alexia Dizeko also scored her first points of the night, adding four to the Gators’ total.
Despite a determined second-half effort, Florida fell short to UNC for the fourth time in the limited history between the two squads.
Florida will attempt to bounce back against the UNF Ospreys (4-8) at the Stephen C O’Connell Center on Saturday at 2:45 p.m.
Contact Amanda Roman at aroman@alligator.org. Follow her on X @mandy_romannn
Amanda Roman is a sophomore sports journalism major and The Alligator's Fall 2024 Soccer Reporter. She interned for Fort Lauderdale United FC this past summer as the team's journalist. In her free time, she enjoys lifting, shopping and reading.
