Sports | Women's Basketball - The Independent Florida Alligator

“They started to chip away at (the lead) and we started to collapse and cave in,” Florida coach Cameron Newbauer said after Florida's 84-55 loss to Auburn. "“We’ve just got to have more of a resolve about ourselves and someone has to pick us up.”

SPORTS | WOMEN'S BASKETBALL

Gators second half meltdown leads to first SEC loss of season

By Justin Ahlum | Dec. 31, 2017

With under four minutes left in the second quarter, Florida guard Funda Nakkasoglu was sent to the charity stripe for a pair of free throws. After Nakkasoglu buried one of her two attempts, the Gators slowly watched their eight-point lead slip away at the end of the half and went into the break ahead by one.

Florida forward Haley Lorenzen scored 18 points and pulled down 12 rebounds in Florida's 85-51 victory over Delaware State on Wednesday.

SPORTS | WOMEN'S BASKETBALL

Florida thrashes Delaware State behind big day from Lorenzen

By Morgan McMullen | Dec. 27, 2017

With the final seconds winding down and the game well in hand, Florida guard Tameria Johnson ran down a Delaware State fast break attempt and poked the ball away. As she took it across half court, coach Cameron Newbauer signaled his offense to run one more play. But Johnson, looking over to her bench, lost the handle and was called for a backcourt violation. The freshman laughed it off, shook her head and jogged back for the final defensive possession of the afternoon.

Florida guard Paulina Hersler scored a game-high 19 points on Thursday to lead the Gators to a 71-51 win over Saint Joseph's at the O'Connell Center.

SPORTS | WOMEN'S BASKETBALL

Hersler leads Gators over Saint Joseph’s on Thursday

By Justin Ahlum | Dec. 21, 2017

With two and a half minutes left in the fourth quarter, Florida guard Paulina Hersler received a pass at the top of the key. She stepped back, jumped up and drained the three-pointer, giving the Gators a 24-point advantage, their largest lead of the contest.

Florida women's basketball coach Cameron Newbauer wasn't happy with his team after it recorded just two assists in the second half of its five-point loss to Chattanooga on Wednesday. "Playing all individual, selfish, one-on-one basketball," he said.

SPORTS | WOMEN'S BASKETBALL

Gators lose to Chattanooga following ‘selfish’ second-half play

By Morgan McMullen | Dec. 20, 2017

Dyandria Anderson hadn’t scored all game. Undeterred, the Florida guard drove down the right side of the court. With the Gators down by three and just under five minutes remaining in the contest, Anderson lurched hard into a trailing defender and drained a layup while drawing a foul. She then swished the free throw and tied the game up at 55 apiece.

Florida guard Funda Nakkasoglu scored 17 points in Florida's 74-69 victory over Marshall on Sunday at the O'Connell Center.

SPORTS | WOMEN'S BASKETBALL

Gators hold off Marshall at home in five-point win

By Justin Ahlum | Dec. 10, 2017

With less than three minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, Florida guard Dyandria Anderson stopped her dribble and launched a cross court pass to teammate Funda Nakkasoglu. Nakkasoglu caught the ball, launched a three from the corner of the court and watched it fall through the bottom of the net.

Florida women's basketball coach Cameron Newbauer wasn't pleased with his team's high volume of turnovers in its 103-77 loss to No. 12 Ohio State on Wednesday. "Selfish basketball," he said. "It really bit us in the tail and then the wheels fell off."

SPORTS | WOMEN'S BASKETBALL

Florida falls to Buckeyes by 26 on Wednesday

By Justin Ahlum | Dec. 6, 2017

Halfway through the third quarter, Florida’s women’s basketball team felt momentum shifting in its favor.

Florida guard Dyandria Anderson, who set a new career high in points against Oklahoma, said while she and her teammates enjoyed arguably their best win of the season, they need to retain the lessons learned from it. “We can’t just forget about them," Anderson said.

SPORTS | WOMEN'S BASKETBALL

Gators look to win fourth in a row tonight vs. Ohio State

By Morgan McMullen | Dec. 5, 2017

On Sunday night, the Gators (5-3) celebrated their second road win of the year the same way as their first.

Senior guard Dyandria Anderson led all scorers with a career-high 29 points on 8-of-11 shooting while going 6-of-7 from behind the arc in Florida's 80-61 win over Oklahoma on Sunday at the Lloyd Noble Center in Norman, Oklahoma.

SPORTS | WOMEN'S BASKETBALL

Gators dominate Sooners in biggest win of Newbauer era

By Justin Ahlum | Dec. 3, 2017

As Funda Nakkasoglu missed a wide-open layup, she and teammate Haley Lorenzen shared a laugh. Her embarrassing miss didn’t matter, as the Gators (5-3) were just minutes away from sealing an 80-61 road victory over the Oklahoma Sooners (3-4).

Florida transfer guard Funda Nakkasoglu (3) is still bothered by an ankle injury suffered on Nov. 21.

SPORTS | WOMEN'S BASKETBALL

Gators guard Funda Nakkasoglu recovering from injury as team prepares for Oklahoma

By Morgan McMullen | Nov. 30, 2017

Redshirt junior guard Funda Nakkasoglu drove to the paint from the right side of the three-point line. She beat her defender, cut inside the incoming forward and raised up for a layup attempt without opposition.

Florida forward Haley Lorenzen recorded a double-double with 20 points and 11 rebounds in the Gators 69-59 win against Jacksonville on Tuesday.

SPORTS | WOMEN'S BASKETBALL

Haley Lorenzen fuels Gators' home win over Jacksonville

By Morgan McMullen | Nov. 28, 2017

When Funda Nakkasoglu missed a three-pointer with 9:27 remaining in the second quarter, forward Haley Lorenzen used her 6-foot-3 frame to snatch an offensive rebound. She dribbled, retreated a few steps, and nailed a jumper from the elbow to extend a lead Florida would never give up.

UF guard Funda Nakkasoglu sat out the final two games of the Savannah Invitational. She hopes to be back on the court against Jacksonville.

SPORTS | WOMEN'S BASKETBALL

Gators head into matchup against Jacksonville tonight with a few key injuries

By Justin Ahlum | Nov. 27, 2017

On Monday afternoon, Florida emerged from its locker room and took the court for practice. Dressed in their all-blue practice uniforms, the Gators shot around, with multiple players getting reps at the free-throw line and from behind the arc.

Delicia Washington was efficient from the floor, hitting 4-of-7 shots for 12 points, while coming away with 12 rebounds and serving up 10 assists to record the Gators’ third triple-double in program history.

SPORTS | WOMEN'S BASKETBALL

Gators set multiple records in final Savannah Invitational game

By Morgan McMullen | Nov. 23, 2017

Already up by 11 points with 5:02 to go in the first quarter, Delicia Washington snagged a rebound and called for her teammates to sprint up the court. She dished an outlet pass to Sydney Searcy, who promptly drained a three-pointer just six seconds after Washington came down with the ball.

Searcy, filling in for Funda Nakkasoglu, turned in a valiant attempt at replacing the Gators’ leading scorer in Florida's 85-71 loss to Stetson. She made 4-of-8 from the floor, including three buckets from beyond the arc in her first start of her career.

SPORTS | WOMEN'S BASKETBALL

Gators, without leading scorer Nakkasoglu, blown out by Stetson

By Morgan McMullen | Nov. 22, 2017

With the final minute winding down in the game, Sydney Searcy hoisted a three-point attempt in the right-hand corner directly off an inbound pass, and swished it.

Before she suffered the injury, Funda Nakkasoglu led the Gators to their second win of the season against the Richmond Spiders, 87-80, in their opening game of the Savannah Invitational, scoring a season-high 25 points.

SPORTS | WOMEN'S BASKETBALL

Three-point success overshadowed by Nakkasoglu injury during Gators win over Spiders

By Justin Ahlum | Nov. 21, 2017

With less than two minutes left in the fourth quarter, Funda Nakkasoglu ran down the floor before taking the ball across the halfcourt line. She fell and remained down on the sideline for several moments. With coach Cameron Newbauer to her left, the junior transfer walked off the court gingerly and was replaced by freshman Tameria Johnson.

Over three days, Florida will play three games, starting with the Richmond Spiders at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday. With the schools meeting for the fourth time, UF has never notched a win against Richmond.

SPORTS | WOMEN'S BASKETBALL

After 30-point home loss, the Gators women’s basketball team gears up for three games in three days

By Justin Ahlum | Nov. 20, 2017

Throughout his news conference following the Gators’ loss to Florida State, UF coach Cameron Newbauer kept his head down as he assessed a 30-point home blowout.

The inexperience and lack of depth in Florida's 84-54 loss to Florida State in the O'Connell Center showed just how much farther coach Cameron Newbauer has to push his Gators team.

SPORTS | WOMEN'S BASKETBALL

Gators blown out by Seminoles at home

By Morgan McMullen | Nov. 17, 2017

Freshman forward Mikayla Hayes got the feed in the paint, dribbled once and spun over her left shoulder. She went up for the jump hook but was soundly rejected by Florida State’s Chatrice White, much to the delight of the FSU contingent behind the Seminoles’ bench.

Coach Cameron Newbauer said UF has to do a better job passing and hauling in rebounds if it wants to beat No. 17 Florida State tonight at 7 at the O’Connell Center.

SPORTS | WOMEN'S BASKETBALL

Turnovers, rebounds a focal point heading into UF’s women’s basketball game with FSU

By Morgan McMullen | Nov. 17, 2017

Up by two with less than five minutes remaining against Arkansas State, the Gators pushed hard up the court. As the play developed, sophomore guard Delicia Washington received a long outlet pass but stepped out of bounds. Turnover.

Arkansas State defeated the Gators, 70-69, in the O’Connell Center on Tuesday night. It was the first loss at UF for new coach Cameron Newbauer, who Florida hired on March 27 to fix an underperforming women's basketball program.

SPORTS | WOMEN'S BASKETBALL

UF women’s basketball team suffers first loss of Newbauer era

By Justin Ahlum | Nov. 14, 2017

Dyandria Anderson put up a prayer from the left side of the court. With two seconds left on the game clock, the senior’s three-point attempt bounced off the back rim as Arkansas State’s Akasha Westbrook grabbed the rebound and ran out the clock.

UF guard Paulina Hersler converted 3-of-5 attempts from beyond the arc in Florida's 82-66 against Georgia State on Saturday.

SPORTS | WOMEN'S BASKETBALL

Three-pointers are an emphasis for Florida heading into matchup with Arkansas State

By Justin Ahlum | Nov. 14, 2017

Seven Florida players made three-pointers in UF’s season-opening win over the weekend. Just how coach Cameron Newbauer likes it.

A scoring run between the second and third quarters served as the catalyst the Gators’ offense needed as they ran away with the game, beating Georgia State 82-66.

SPORTS | WOMEN'S BASKETBALL

Gators, Newbauer win big against Georgia State in season debut

By Morgan McMullen | Nov. 11, 2017

As halftime drew near, Sydney Searcy’s unofficial theme song began to play.