GAINESVILLE — Florida women’s basketball has chased the top of the Southeastern Conference in recent years.
Sunday represented an opportunity for the Gators to dunk on the upper echelon of the conference. Instead, UF paced behind powerhouse South Carolina and came up just short once again.
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Florida fell to the Gamecocks 74-63 Sunday afternoon at the O’Connell Center in Gainesville behind a crowd of 6,006 spectators.
Still, coach Kelly Rae Finley and the Gators believe progress was made and learning done in front of the second-largest crowd to watch a women’s basketball game post-renovation.
“SEC is the best conference to play in,” star sophomore Liv McGill said. “It’s very tough, it’s a dog fight every night and we’re right there so, that’s what I learned and that’s what I know.”
McGill scored 18 points Sunday after 32 in the team’s SEC opener Thursday at Tennessee in a 76-65 loss. She’s proving she belongs among the conference’s best. She received high praise from Gamecock coach – the legendary Dawn Staley – who called McGill “dynamic” and “spectacular.”
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One key difference between Thursday’s and Sunday’s loss was the emergence of productivity from those besides McGill. She carried the offense vs. the Vols with 32 of the 65 points.
On Sunday, freshman Emilija Dakic scored a career-high 10 points. Laila Reynolds added 12 points but still struggled from the floor. Reynolds shot 3-11 after 3-14 in the Volunteer State.
“Mills has earned the opportunity. When we watch film back, she really makes very limited errors, if any errors at all on the court,” Finley said. “She’s steady, she’s consistent, she’s bought in.”
Dakic helped the Gators achieve an impressive defensive game. The Gamecocks shot 34.3 percent from the field – their lowest of the season. Florida also forced a season-high 21 USC turnovers, including seven in the fourth.
South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley reacts during the first half of an NCAA women’s basketball game at Steven C. O’Connell Center Exactek arena in Gainesville, FL on Sunday, January 4, 2026. [Alan Youngblood/Gainesville Sun]
This helped keep UF in the game and got within five. With 7:29 left in the final frame, Dawn Staley proved why she’s one of the best in the game. She called a perfect-timed timeout after three straight turnovers.
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“I don’t think I’ve ever used every timeout, like in a very long time,” Staley said. “I’m not a timeout type of coach. We couldn’t function well without it.”
A Joyce Edwards layup following made it 57-48, and the Gators didn’t stand a chance afterwards.
Staley acknowledged postgame that Finley sped up the Gamecocks style, which disrupted their rhythm.
Finley praised McGill and her defense, calling it her best show of the season.
“Defensively, I thought we were really bought in and locked into the game plan, we played tendencies very, very well. We understood the assignment of keeping them out of the paint, forcing long shots, forcing long contested two’s,” Finley said. “We forced them into 21 three-pointers, I think that might be a season high for them in turns of attempts.”
![Florida head coach Kelly Rae Finley reacts against South Carolina during the first half of an NCAA women’s basketball game at Steven C. O'Connell Center Exactek arena in Gainesville, FL on Sunday, January 4, 2026. [Alan Youngblood/Gainesville Sun]](https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/T7ntevqds9OgMMt__mtNcA--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTYzNztjZj13ZWJw/https://media.zenfs.com/en/the-gainesville-sun/1def14adb737487f3e358763347d26e3)
Florida head coach Kelly Rae Finley reacts against South Carolina during the first half of an NCAA women’s basketball game at Steven C. O’Connell Center Exactek arena in Gainesville, FL on Sunday, January 4, 2026. [Alan Youngblood/Gainesville Sun]
Yet, there’s a reason Finley said she was frustrated after the game. The era of “moral victories” is over for the Gators. In year five, with just one NCAA Tournament appearance, she wants to start winning the “big ones.”
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UF held its chances thanks to the strong defense, but a multitude of turnovers and a rebounding margin of 19-5 in favor of South Carolina proved the defense.
“This is the tip of the iceberg in terms of what Florida basketball is and where we’re heading,” Finley said.
Florida remains without a top three win in program history. It’ll get another chance to do so January 29 vs. No. 2 Texas. For now, it’ll try to avoid a slip-up at home Thursday vs. Texas A&M and a road trip Sunday to Auburn.
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 loses close SEC game to South Carolina once again
