LSU became the latest victim for the Florida Gators on Sunday.
The Gators (15-5, 5-2 SEC) have now won five in a row after a tough 73-72 win over the then-No. 11 Tigers.
Kiara Smith poured in a team-high 23 points, including 10 of 13 from the free-throw line, and dished out eight assists. But Florida also took advantage of 19 LSU turnovers to the tune of 22 points.
Interim coach Kelly Rae Finley said her team has a strong belief in one another that has pushed them forward.
"We have a group of fierce competitors," said Finley, who was named the interim head coach in July. "A belief we are enough. When you operate from that space, everything becomes quite a bit easier."
It's been some time since the Gators have been on this kind of a roll.
The team's turnaround has included a victory over rival Florida State, a double-overtime win at Texas A&M, and a 25-point win on the road against a ranked Kentucky team. Add Sunday's win over LSU to the list of achievements for a program that entered the season in turmoil following the exit of head coach Cam Newbauer under a cloud of controversy.
In addition, the team's top scorer from a season ago, All-SEC selection Lavender Briggs, recently announced that she would miss the rest of the season due to an injury, and not long after that said she was transferring to Maryland. Since Briggs opted to leave the program, Florida is 5-0.
The Gators have endured some lean seasons of late – Florida was 46-71 overall, 15-47 in the SEC in 4 seasons under Newbauer. But they have found their mojo with Finley.
Aggies still reeling
Texas A&M couldn't hold off Missouri on Sunday and dropped its eighth game in the last 11.
The Aggies (11-8, 1-6) led 31-29 at halftime and took a 60-59 lead with 6:26 left in the fourth quarter, but Missouri finished with a 19-8 run to keep Texas A&M on its downward spiral.
The Tigers hit 16 three-pointers, including three in a row late to take the lead for good in the fourth quarter. They made 16 of 33 from beyond the arc, including 5 of 9 in the fourth quarter. Aggies guard Destiny Pitts said that was the difference.
"It was hard when we were trading 3s for 2s," Pitts said. "When they went on their run, they were making threes, and we weren't getting any stops. We needed those stops. I think that was the difference between the first half and the second half: in the first half we were able to get those stops."
Texas A&M's lone SEC victory was a 71-53 win over last-place Auburn.
Key moves up
After not practicing due to a minor ankle injury suffered against Kentucky more than a week ago, Tennessee center Tamari Key played 21 minutes and tallied five blocks against Georgia on Sunday. The 6-6 junior has 73 blocks this season and 231 career blocks, which moved her past Kelley Cain into No. 3 in school history.
Key leads the country, averaging 3.8 blocks per game. She's the only Lady Vol to notch two triple-doubles in her career earlier this season. Key finished with 10 points, 18 rebounds and 10 blocked shots in Tennessee's 74-70 win over Texas.
Jackson moving on
Only a day after her lowest offensive output of the season, Mississippi State' Rickea Jackson announced on social media that she was leaving Starkville.
The 6-2 junior is averaging 20.3 points per game, which leads the SEC. She scored just eight points on 4-of-15 shooting in the Bulldogs' 74-54 loss at Arkansas on Sunday.
Jackson posted a message on Twitter on Monday saying she would be entering the transfer portal.
"She just wants out for mental health reasons," Caryn Jackson, Rickea's mother, said in a text message to the Jackson (Miss.) Clarion Ledger.
Top players
Florida's Kiara Smith had the best two-game stretch of the season with 48 points, 11 rebounds, 14 assists and four steals in wins over Kentucky and LSU to earn SEC Player of the Week honors. With 10 free throws made against LSU, which ties a career-high, Smith moved into seventh in school history in career free throws made at 305.
Arkansas' Samara Spencer scored a career-best 18 points in the Razorbacks' win over Alabama on Thursday, then bettered that 48 hours later to earn SEC Freshman of the Week honors. She scored 19 points, including five three-pointers against Mississippi State on Sunday. For the week, Spencer went 13 of 25 from the floor, including 9 of her 16 from three-point range.
From top to bottom
RK.NETTEAMRECORDSCOMMENT
11S. Carolina18-1, 6-1Gamecocks on a roll
26Tennessee18-1, 7-0Lady Vols hitting their stride
318LSU17-3, 5-2Tigers look to get back on track
426Georgia15-4,4-3Bulldogs win streak stopped
527Ole Miss17-2, 5-1Rebels have big obstacles ahead
625Arkansas13-6, 3-3Razorbacks win two straight
767Florida15-5, 5-2Interim coach has Gators going strong
851Kentucky9-7, 2-4Wildcats searching for consistency
943Missouri15-5, 4-3Three-point shooting keying Tigers
1044Texas A&M11-8, 1-6Aggies still reeling
1163Miss. State11-7, 2-4Rickea Jackson leaving Starkville
1262Alabama11-8, 2-6Tide downs in-state rival
1381Vanderbilt10-10, 1-5Jordyn Cambridge leads SEC in steals
14101Auburn8-10, 0-7Tigers celebrate legendary coach Joe Ciampi
NOTE The NCAA instituted last season for women's college basketball, a rating system called the NET Rankings, which took the place of the Ratings Percentage Index. An acronym for NCAA Evaluation Tool, the NET rankings take into account game results, strength of schedule, game location, scoring margin, net offensive and defensive efficiency and the quality of wins and losses.
Game of the week
No. 24 Ole Miss at No. 1 South Carolina 5 p.m. today (ESPN)
The Rebels will get a serious test to try to keep their recent momentum going. Ole Miss, which entered the AP poll for the first time in 15 years this week, faces the top-ranked team in the country coming off its second win against a ranked opponent this season. This game was originally scheduled for Jan. 2 but was postponed because of covid-19 issues. South Carolina cancelled its much anticipated game against Connecticut in order to make up the league game.
By the numbers
7 Three-pointers made by Hayley Franks in Missouri's win over Texas A&M, which tied a record for Aggie opponents.
20 Wins against ranked opponents by South Carolina since the start of the 2019-20 season.
65 Consecutive weeks Kentucky had been ranked in the AP poll until this week. Their streak dated back to Nov. 19, 2018.
143 Program record for games played, which Texas A&M's Karla Gilbert tied on Sunday