GAINESVILLE – Kelly Rae Finley stunned the world by reaching the NCAA Tournament in her first season as head coach.
She led Florida women’s basketball to their first tournament appearance since 2016 and did so taking over a program in disgrace.
Advertisement
The coach hasn’t made it back to the Big Dance since. Thursday night, the Gators took a big step towards venturing back.
UF defeated rival Florida State in dominant fashion 89-67 at the O’Connell Center. The win moved Florida’s record over FSU to 44-36 all-time, but it’s the team’s first win over the women from Tallahassee for the first time since 2021. The Seminoles under Brooke Wyckoff have become a tournament fixture and advanced to the second-round last season.
“For those of you who weren’t here last year. I was here last year. And we lost,” McGill said. “So I never forget that type of stuff. No matter if it’s a new team. We’re running Florida, so we made a statement tonight.”
The game was expected to be even before the tip. The Seminoles lost second-team All-American Ta’Niya Latson to South Carolina prior to this season.
Advertisement
Junior Laila Reynolds scored a career-high 21 points. Her presence was felt immediately as she scored 10 points in the first. That gave UF a 23-16 lead. Reynolds praised her defense in enabling her to score.
“Lex (Dizeko) came to play, guarding one of their best players, and that just fueled our offense and my teammates kept me going, and we all just kept leaning on each other,” Reynolds said.
FSU cut the deficit to five to begin the third quarter, but then the Gators defense took control. It held the ‘Noles to nine points the rest of the frame and 3-13 shooting. The lead ballooned to 17 by the time the 10 minutes were over.
Finely praised Dizeko’s defense as well. The Gators forced 25 FSU turnovers and played fast as a result, outscoring in fast-break points 22-4.
Florida forward Me’Arah O’Neal (8) collides with Florida State forward Avery Treadwell (32) and Florida State guard Emma Risch (12) during the first half of an NCAA women’s basketball game at Exactec Areana at the Steven C. O Connell Center in Gainesville, FL on Thursday, November 20, 2025. [Alan Youngblood/Gainesville Sun]
“They were able to stay locked up as a result of her defense,” Finley said. “We didn’t have any forced rotations off of ball screens, and as a result we got a lot of deflections, and 38 points off turnovers.”
Advertisement
Liv McGill returned to the lineup after her one game absence in Sunday’s loss to Navy and scored 27 points, including nine in the third.
Me’Arah O’Neal controlled the fourth with 12 points and six rebounds. She recorded her fourth double double of the season with 18 and 11.
The feathers in Florida’s cap are those three young players. If McGill and O’Neal as sophomores can take a leap, the Gators can make some noise.
“They set the tone for that. They’ve all grown tremendously, and they set the tone for what we do,” Finley said. “We are connected. We’re resilient. We’re hungry. And that’s what you saw on the court tonight.”
Advertisement
The Gators look to make it two in a row in-state with a win at Florida Atlantic Monday at 7 p.m. from Boca Raton.
Noah Ram covers Florida Gators athletics and Gainesville-area high school sports for The Gainesville Sun, GatorSports.com and the USA TODAY Network. Contact him at nram@gannett.com. Follow him on X @Noah_ram1. Read his coverage of the Gators’ national championship basketball season in “CHOMP-IONS!” — a hardcover coffee-table collector’s book from The Sun. Details at Florida.ChampsBook.com
This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Florida women’s basketball defeats FSU behind Liv McGill’s 27 points
