Tag: Kiara Smith

Florida WBB alum Leilani Correa signs with Latin basketball league

After coming up just short of a WNBA roster spot, former Florida Gator Leilani Correa will continue her pro career in Mexico.

After narrowingly missing out on a WNBA roster spot, former Florida women’s basketball star [autotag]Leilani Correa[/autotag] is continuing her pro career in the Mexican National Professional Basketball League with the Aguascalientes Panthers.

Correa was drafted by the Indiana Fever  — the same team that drafted Caitlion Clark out of Iowa — in the third round of the 2024 WNBA draft. However, roster spots are not guaranteed for draftees.

The selection made her the 20th Gator in program history to be selected in the WNBA draft and the first UF athlete since [autotag]Kiara Smith[/autotag] was taken by the Connecticut Sun in 2022.

Correa transferred to Florida after three years at St. John’s. She averaged 24.5 minutes over 27 games as a senior, mostly off the bench. Correa made that role her own in 2023-24, averaging 16.9 points, 4.2 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game en route to an SEC Sixth Woman of the Year Award.

She also holds the career points record across both Florida basketball programs with 2,132 including her time at St. Johns.

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LSU women’s basketball beats Florida in front of sellout crowd

The Tigers relied on strong defense in a 66-61 win over the Gators.

In front of a packed house at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center, the No. 11 LSU women’s basketball team beat the No. 17 Florida Gators 66-61. With the win, the Tigers improve their record to 23-4 and are now in a tie for second place in the SEC.

LSU overcame a lousy game from their leading scorer Khayla Pointer. She only scored seven points on 1 of 17 shooting from the field. However, she did add seven rebounds and three assists.

With Pointer struggling, Alexis Morris stepped up her game and scored 20 points. She struggled from the field, shooting 5 of 15, but she was aggressive driving to the basket and made 10 of 12 from the free-throw line. It was her aggressiveness that helped the Tigers pull out the victory.

Along with Morris, Autumn Newby added 13 points on 5 of 6 shooting while grabbing eight rebounds. Faustine Aifuwa scored 10 points, but her significant contribution was on the defensive end. Aifuwa blocked five shots in the game, including two in the game’s final minutes.

Nina Rickards led the Gators in scoring with 17 points. Kiara Smith pitched in with 13 points, while Zippy Broughton added ten points.

Both teams played well on the defensive end of the court. However, LSU’s 15 points off turnovers and the fact that it made 11 more free throws than Florida proved to be decisive as the Tigers took down a hot team to stay in the hunt for a regular-season conference title.

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Florida takes advantage of LSU’s poor fourth quarter

LSU struggles in the 4th quarter in loss to Florida

The LSU women’s basketball team suffered a tough 73-72 loss to Florida on the road. LSU started slowly in the first quarter but came on strong in the second and third quarters. In the fourth quarter, the Gators outscored the Tigers 19-14.

The Tigers were led by Khayla Pointer’s 35 points on 11-27 shooting from the field. No other scorer for LSU scored in the double-figures. Alex Morris and Ryann Payne were next in scoring with eight points apiece.

Two things hurt the Tigers in this game, three-point shooting. LSU shot 1-9 from beyond the arc. Also, the Tigers only had eight team assists, which means too much one-on-one basketball from Pointer. Moving forward LSU needs to move the ball more.

Florida was led by Kiara Smith, who had 23 points and dished out eight assists. She did an outstanding job getting to the free-throw line knicking 10-13. Smith being aggressive helped lead the Gators to victory. Smith also had help from Jordyn Merrit and Zippy Broughton. Merrit scored 16 points with seven rebounds, four steals, and two blocks. Broughton chipped in with 14 points, four rebounds, and three steals. The Gators 6-17 shooting from three.

LSU has lost two games in a row and will need to rebound against Arkansas on the road on Thursday.

Game Details: LSU Lady Tigers take on the Florida Gators

After a week off the Lady Tigers head to Flordia to take on the Gators.

The LSU women’s basketball team will take on the Flordia Gators in Florida on Sunday. It has been a week since the Lady Tigers have played a game; their last game was last Sunday, a win against Vanderbilt. LSU is 17-2, 6-0 in the SEC, and Florida is 14-5, 4-2 in the SEC.

LSU has won three in a row, and Flordia comes into the game with a four-game winning streak. The Tigers are averaging 77.2 points per game and are 15-1 when they put up more than 64 points. The Lady Tigers are also playing strong defense, giving up just 57.5 points per game and holding teams to 35.2% from the field. Florida scores 68.9 points per game and is 9-3 when they score over 58 points.

Players to watch

Khayla Pointer leads LSU in scoring and assists; she averages 18.1 points and 4.7 assists per game. Pointer has been good from behind the arc, shooting 45%. Alexis Morris is another crucial player for the Tigers, averaging 14.9 points; she is also good on the defensive end swiping 2.2 steals per game.

Kiara Smith is the go-to player for the Gators, with 13.3 points and 4.5 assists; Lavender Briggs adds 12.2 points and 5.5 rebounds for Florida. Jordyn Merritt is the Gator’s third double-digit scorer with 10.2 points per game.

Game details

  • Date: Sunday, Jan. 23
  • Location: The Stephen O’Connell Center, Gainsville, Florida
  • Time: 1:00 p.m. CT
  • TV: SEC Network+
  • Radio: LSU Radio Network
  • App: Watch ESPN
  • Live Stream: fuboTV (try it free)

Gators News: Florida athletics racking up the honors this week

Two more Gators bring pride to the ORange and Blue this week.

Welcome to a midweek edition of Gators News and today we just have a couple of sports to report on along with a pair of student-athletes who earned high accolades this week for their outstanding performance. No need to waste any more time, without further ado, here is the latest from the Gator Nation.

Two Lady Gators named to basketball Preseason All-SEC teams

Florida WBK isn’t expected to finish too high up in the SEC this year, according to a coaches vote, but they think you should keep an eye on these two Gators.

Florida is predicted to finish eleventh in Southeastern Conference after a vote was taken by the league’s coaches. They also voted on preseason awards, naming Florida guards Lavender Briggs and Kiara Smith to the All-SEC Preseason First and Second teams, respectively.

Briggs, a junior whose sophomore campaign was cut short due to a foot injury, led the team in scoring in each of her first two seasons. She also became the first Gator in five years to make the All-SEC Second Team in 2021, so expect Florida to lean heavily on her for production this year.

Kiara Smith has played three seasons with Florida after transferring from ASA College in New York. She stepped up big last year, becoming the first player in program history to lead the team in total points, rebounds and assists in a single season.

South Carolina, Texas A&M and Tennessee are predicted to finish at the top of the conference, and Kentucky’s Rhyne Howard was voted as SEC Women’s Basketball Preseason Player of the Year. To cut down on favoritism, coaches aren’t allowed to vote for their own team or players in this process.

Florida’s season begins against Georgia State on November 9.

The full results of the preseason vote can be found below.

Preseason Coaches’ Predictions

Order of Finish

1. South Carolina

2. Texas A&M

3. Tennessee

4. Georgia

5. Kentucky

6. Ole Miss

7. Arkansas

8. LSU

9. Mississippi State

10. Missouri

11. Florida

12. Alabama

13. Auburn

14. Vanderbilt

Player of the Year

Rhyne Howard, Kentucky

First Team All-SEC

Lavender Briggs, Florida

Rhyne Howard, Kentucky

Khayla Pointer, LSU

Shakira Austin, Ole Miss

Rickea Jackson, Mississippi State

Aliyah Boston, South Carolina

Zia Cooke, South Carolina

Rae Burrell, Tennessee

Second Team All-SEC

Amber Ramirez, Arkansas

Kiara Smith, Florida

Que Morrison, Georgia

Jenna Staiti, Georgia

Aijha Blackwell, Missouri

Destanni Henderson, South Carolina

Tamari Key, Tennessee

Jordan Nixon, Texas A&M

Kayla Wells, Texas A&M

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