BOWLING GREEN, Ohio – Florida ladies’s basketball noticed their spectacular postseason run come to an finish on Monday night, falling to Bowling Inexperienced in entrance of a near-record crowd on the Stroh Middle, 69-52.

Leilani Correa paced the Gators (19-15) offensively with 20 factors to associate with 5 rebounds and two steals, whereas KK Deans and Jordyn Merritt every added 9 for the Orange & Blue. The Gators ended the day taking pictures 19-of-53 (35.8%) from the sphere and 7-of-21 (33.3%) from three-point vary, led by three from Deans.

Florida moved the ball effectively, aiding on 13 of their 19 made baskets. Deans dished-out seven on the night to guide the cost and Alberte Rimdal tallied three of her personal. Merritt continued to carry down the glass for Florida, ending with a team-best 10 rebounds. Correa and Deans each pulled-down 5 of their very own, however the Falcons held a 47-35 edge on the boards.

Defensively, the Gators pressured Bowling Inexperienced (31-6) into 16 turnovers after the Falcons entered the sport averaging 12. The defensive effort resulted in 13 steals, with Deans as soon as once more main the way in which with three and 4 others within the Orange & Blue swiping away two. For the sport, Bowling Inexperienced shot 27-of-71 (38.0%) from the ground and simply 6-of-26 (23.1%) from deep.

Amy Velasco was the chief on the court docket for the Falcons, ending with 18 factors, 5 assists and two rebounds. Elissa Brett recorded 16 factors and 9 boards for BGSU.

The Stroh Middle was rocking after a game-opening triple from the Falcons, however Florida rapidly hushed the gang with a 9-0 response, capped off by a layup from Nina Rickards with 7:04 on the clock, to take a 9-3 lead. After a Rimdal triple on the 6:29 mark, Bowling Inexperienced stepped-up their protection and held the Gators scoreless for 5 minutes whereas closing the hole to at least one, 12-11. Correa put an finish to the run with a layup off of a dime from Deans, however the final 4 factors of the body would go to the Falcons who took a 15-14 lead into the second quarter.

Deans kickstarted Florida’s scoring effort within the second, draining a triple earlier than Correa knocked-down a midrange jumper to assist UF regain the lead, 19-15, with 7:38 exhibiting on the clock. The Falcons as soon as once more had a solution, nonetheless, placing collectively a 7-0 run of their very own to retake the lead with 5:42 left within the half, 22-19.

Trailing 22-20 late within the interval, Correa took over the sport for the Gators, scoring the subsequent six factors to will the Orange & Blue to a 26-22 benefit with simply over two minutes remaining. Deans prolonged the result in seven 30 seconds later along with her third triple of the sport, serving to the Gators to hold-off two late triples by Bowling Inexperienced for a 31-28 lead on the finish of the primary half. The Falcons, who solely common simply over 12 turnovers per recreation, have been pressured into 12 turnovers within the opening 20 minutes.

Each squads exchanged blows for the primary 4:40 of the third earlier than an and-one alternative from Velasco gave Bowling Inexperienced their first lead of the half, 37-35, with 5:21 to go. Velasco was accountable for 9-0 run from the Falcons that pressured a Florida timeout on the 3:27 mark, extending their result in 41-35. The Falcons stored the Gators at arm’s size over the remaining three minutes, holding a 50-42 edge with 10 minutes remaining within the recreation.

Jordyn Merritt linked on a triple to start the fourth quarter, bringing the Gators inside seven, however that is as shut as Florida would get with Bowling Inexperienced pulling-away for a 69-52 victory within the quarterfinal spherical of the WNIT.

Head Coach Kelly Rae Finley
On her emotions concerning her workforce after the postseason run…
“Oh man, I like them. I really feel actually proud to be their coach and tonight did not go the way in which we had wished it to, however hats-off to Bowling Inexperienced, they seem to be a very gifted basketball workforce, however I although we ran out of fuel a little bit bit. We do not make excuses on this program, however we have been on the highway for 2 weeks straight they usually out-hustled us in numerous areas we had been excelling in, after which we have been fairly hesitant all night. Locations we have actually improved, like making second efforts and a number of efforts to the ball, we have been simply sluggish to the ball tonight.”

On what taking part in deep into March means for this system…
“It is every part to us. We simply talked to the workforce about connecting the dots and utilizing this to propel us ahead. If that is the weekend we wish to be taking part in on subsequent season within the NCAA Event, we have got to really feel what it looks like and overcome psychological and bodily fatigue whereas understanding what it takes to be taking part in on March 27 and clear into April. If April is once we wish to be taking part in, this can be a nice step for our program transferring ahead.”

On the fan help for the Gators all season…
“Thanks all a lot for popping out and exhibiting up for us. We had adversity and also you all all the time confirmed up. It is the distinction and it is why we play, and why we wish to put a workforce on the basketball court docket that Gator Nation will be happy with.”

Notables
– Florida ends their season with the longest postseason run for the reason that 2013 marketing campaign once they superior to the WNIT semifinal.
– Florida secured back-to-back profitable seasons for the primary time for the reason that 2012-13 and 2013-14 seasons.
– The Gators additionally ended with essentially the most wins over a two-season interval (40) for the reason that 2012-13/2013-14 season once they tallied 42 wins. – Florida collected six highway victories throughout the 2022-23 season and 7 throughout the 2021-22 season, marking the primary time with at the very least six wins on the highway in back-to-back seasons for the reason that 2000-01/2001-02 campaigns.
– With three triples on the night, KK Deans ends her season with 77 made threes, the seventh-most by a Gator in a season.
– Deans additionally ends the season taking pictures 38.2% from lengthy vary, the fifth-best season from deep by a Gator and finest by a senior at school historical past.
– Alberte Rimdal ends her season with 50 made triples, tying her for the fourth-most in a season by a sophomore at Florida.