FAYETTEVILLE -- "It's raining 3's" might be the headline after today's Southeastern Conference women's basketball contest between the University of Arkansas and the University of Florida.
The Gators (8-10, 0-5 SEC) lead the league in 3-point shooting with Arkansas (11-7, 2-3 SEC) second in shooting from distance. Today's 6 p.m. tip should be a fast-paced match-up. The game will air live on the SEC Network (Resort Channel 79).
The Razorbacks are coming off of a road win at Auburn (10-7, 1-4) and rank second in the SEC, averaging 7.8 made 3-point field goals per game. Arkansas is also second in made 3-pointers with 141.
Arkansas saw back-to-back season-best nights from junior Bailey Zimmerman at Georgia (9-2, 4-1) and at Auburn. Zimmerman, a junior from Wonderview hit six 3-point field goals in the two games, shooting 46 percent from beyond the arc. She added a career-best eight rebounds against the Tigers and was key as a defensive stopper in the game.
Kiara Williams, a sophomore from Little Rock Central, also stepped up with her third double-double last week, with a career-best 15 points and 14 rebounds.
The Razorbacks are in the midst of their SEC road schedule. They played back-to-back games on the road at Georgia and Auburn, host Florida, and return to travel to No. 11 Missouri (15-2, 3-1) on Sunday and No. 10 South Carolina (14-3, 3-2) on Thursday.
The Gators are also in a transition season, welcoming new head coach Cameron Newbauer this year after four seasons as Belmont's head coach. Although they are 0-5 in the SEC, Florida's last four games have been decided by single digits and the Gators have held leads late in the contests.
Five Gators average double figures, led by Funa Nakkasoglu at 14.9 points per game. Haley Lorenzen, 12.6 points per game; Paulina Hersler, 12.2; Dyandria Anderson, 11.3; and Deilcia Washington, 10.1, also average double digits. Lorenzen is the team's leading rebounder with 9.3 per game.
Malvern's Raven Northcross-Baker averaging the fifth-most minutes for Arkansas and is usually head coach Mike Neighbors' first choice off of the bench. She averages 6.9 points in 20.7 minutes per game.
Sports on 01/18/2018