Briggs rallies Florida women past No. 13 Kentucky 70-62

Feb 2, 2021, 08:52 pm

LEXINGTON, Ky. -- Freshman Lavender Briggs scored nine of her 18 points in a 25-5 fourth-quarter blitz that rallied Florida to a 70-62 win over No. 13 Kentucky on Sunday.

Playing their second-straight game without star Rhyne Howard, who has a broken finger, the Wildcats scored the first five points of the fourth quarter to take a 51-43 lead.

Briggs started the comeback with a 3-pointer at the 7:14 mark and her 3 at 5:12 put the Gators up 54-53. She added a layup then hit a her free throw with 59 seconds left for a 68-56 lead.

Florida (12-10, 3-6 Southeastern Conference), which ended a five-game losing streak, beat a ranked team for the first time in eight tries this season. The Gators were 8-of-14 shooting in the fourth quarter, making 4 of 6 beyond the arc, but were only 7 of 13 from the foul line.

Briggs, who had a streak of 14 straight double-figure games end when the Gators lost to Kentucky 65-45 on Jan. 12, was just 7-of-20 shooting but had a career-high 13 rebounds and six assists. Her only other game scoring in double figures was the season opener. Zada Williams and Nina Rickards added 12 points each with Williams grabbing 12 rebounds.

Kentucky (17-4, 6-3), which had a 14-point lead in the first half, was led by Chasity Patterson with a career-high 25 points. Jaida Roper scored 15. The Wildcats went 3 of 20 from 3-point range and shot 38%.

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