Florida guard Danielle Rainey’s game-tying three-point attempt at the buzzer came up short as UNLV defeated the Florida women’s basketball team 56-53 for its second loss in as many nights.
If UF was going to escape Nevada and the Duel in the Desert tournament with a win, Friday’s contest with a one-win UNLV team was its best chance. Instead, UNLV’s strong defense and timely offense sent Florida back home and into the Christmas break on a three-game losing streak.
“It was just the offensive rebounds at the wrong moments,” Florida coach Cam Newbauer said in a release. “You hold a team to 56 points and you’ll have an opportunity to win the game. I’m pleased with the way we competed defensively.”
The contest was one in which the box score doesn’t tell the whole story. Despite losing, Florida (3-9) shot for a higher field-goal percentage and a much higher three-point percentage than the Rebels. The Gators also outrebounded their opposition 39-33. However, Florida turned the ball over 19 times compared to UNLV’s nine and went just 2-7 from the charity stripe.
To compound the turnover problem, Florida simply didn’t do enough scoring, with the 53-point output being its second-lowest total of the season. Leading-scorer Funda Nakkasoglu was the only player in double digits with 16 points. The team’s second-leading scorer Delicia Washington did not play at all.
“We need to work on valuing the ball more, just sharing it and getting open,” Newbauer said. “We need to cut down on the turnovers as well.”
With 12 lead changes, it was a back-and-forth affair. Florida was the hot team early, hitting three of its first six attempts from beyond the arc and using a 12-0 run to jump out to a six-point lead in the second quarter. UNLV answered in the third quarter with an 8-0 run of its own.
Florida’s 39-37 lead it had with eight minutes left was the last lead it would hold all day. Despite the Gators remaining within two possessions of UNLV for the duration of the fourth quarter, the Lady Rebels -- led by Nikki Wheatley’s nine points in the quarter -- had an answer to keep Florida at bay.
The Gators will now have over a week off before taking on Charleston Southern on Dec. 30 before heading into SEC play in the new year.
Follow Sam Campisano on Twitter @samcampisano and contact him at scampisano@alligator.org.
Guard Funda Nakkasoglu is the SEC's second-leading scorer, and she contributed a team-high 16 points as well as two rebounds and a steal in the Gators 56-53 loss to UNLV.
