PANAMA CITY, Fla. -- Florida's leading scorer has quit the team.
Sophomore Eleanna Christinaki, who averaged 17.6 points while starting the first nine games of the season, left the 23rd-ranked Gators (7-3) after refusing to accept a suspension. Christinaki and freshman Delicia Washington were suspended for the first half Sunday against North Carolina A&T for what coach Amanda Butler called "a little discipline from some behavior that is not becoming of a Gator and not part of our culture."
Washington played the second half in Florida's 67-38 victory at Gulf Coast State College. Butler said Washington handled it "very maturely, very much like a woman." The coach said Christinaki "quit on her team," but that other players dealt with her absence well.
"Our team handled that with just a great deal of pride, a great deal of grace and effort and energy," Butler said.
A native of Athens, Greece, Christinaki was named to the All-Southeastern Conference freshman team last season. Christinaki's bio was quickly removed from the team website.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.