UF Women’s Basketball: Standout Briggs to Miss Rest of Season with Foot Injury
Courtesy of University Athletic Association
BY SAM STOLTE
Gators’ sophomore guard who was having one of best seasons in program history sidelined for remainder of 2020-21 season
University of Florida women’s basketball sophomore Lavender Briggs will miss the remainder of the 2020-21 season due to a foot injury, fourth-year head coach Cam Newbauer announced Monday.
Averaging 19.4 points per game over the course of 18 games, Briggs was enjoying one of the best seasons in program history, and she will finish the campaign with the fourth-highest points-per-game average ever by a Gator. Briggs, who had been nursing a foot injury for the last few contests, willed Florida to an overtime win at LSU this past Thursday with a team-best 21 points and 10 rebounds.
The second-year standout has been ruled out of Florida’s remaining four regular season games and the postseason.
The former five-star signee, who was an SEC All-Freshman honoree a season ago, has missed just one game in her Florida career, starting 47 of the Gators’ 48 games over the span.
In league play, Briggs managed to put up even more sensational numbers, as she upped her scoring to 21.8 points per game, which trails only Arkansas senior Chelsea Dungee. Briggs’ scoring average in SEC play is the highest by a Florida player since the 1982-83 season, when former All-American and 1992 Olympian Tammy Jackson averaged 22.0.
Briggs’ prolific scoring ability was on full display just over a month ago in Fayetteville, when she poured in a career-best 41 points, the fourth-most ever by a Florida player and the most by a sophomore in program history.
Briggs’ contributions didn’t stop with just scoring, though, as she ranked third on the team in rebounding (6.5) and second in assists. The Utah native tallied double figures in 17 of her 18 games played and finished the campaign with 11 straight games with 15 or more points.
The 6-foot-1 guard and teammate Kiki Smith combined to form one of the nation’s best 1-2 scoring punches, averaging a combined 35 points per game. The duo put together seven games with a combined 40 or more points, the third most among any two players in the Power 5 conferences.
The Gators return to action tonight for their first of three games this week when they host No. 20 Kentucky for a showdown on SEC Network.