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Florida women's basketball: No. 21 Florida women hold off late push by Arkansas 76-67

Associated Press

Kiara Smith had 19 points, seven rebounds and five assists, Emanuely de Oliveira added 15 points and eight rebounds and No.  Florida beat Arkansas 76-67 on Thursday night.

Florida led by 19 points early in the fourth quarter but went without a field goal for the final six minutes as Arkansas used a 10-0 run to pull within 69-60. The Razorback wouldn't get closer than eight points the rest of the way as Smith made two of Florida's seven free throws in the final 1:04 to help seal it.

Zippy Broughton also scored 15 points for Florida (20-6, 10-3 SEC), which has its most conference wins since finishing with 10 in the 2015-16 season. Nina Rickards added 10 points.

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Florida Gators guard Kiara Smith (1) dribbles the ball during the first half against the Arkansas Razorbacks at Billy Donovan Court at Exactech Arena in Gainesville, on Thursday, Feb. 17, 2022.

Florida closed the first half on a 7-0 run for a 43-29 lead and stayed ahead by double figures until 2:13 left in the fourth.

Samara Spencer, a four-time SEC freshman of the week, scored 19 points and Sasha Goforth added 18 points for Arkansas (16-9, 6-6). Jersey Wolfenbarger chipped in with 15 points and Amber Ramirez had 10 points and 10 rebounds.

Arkansas entered averaging 9.2 3-pointers per game, but finished just 1 of 13 against the Gators.