GEORGE TOWN, Cayman Islands. — Florida concludes its Thanksgiving sojourn to the Cayman Islands, Saturday with a 5 p.m. EST tip against Georgia Tech. The Gators upended Memphis,74-60, in their first game of the tournament Friday evening as Me’Arah O’Neal scored 24 points and grabbed nine rebounds, while Liv McGill poured in 27 points. That victory improved the Gators record to 7-1 on the season. The last time Florida had a better record through eight games was 2000-01 when they started the season a perfect 8-0.
 
McGill ranks second in the nation in scoring (26.2 ppg), 20th in assists per game (6.0) and sixth in steals per game (4.33). Me’Arah O’Neal (16.6 ppg) and Laila Reynolds (14.4 ppg) are the Gators other double digit scorers.
 
Georgia Tech is 3-4 on the year following a, 77-75, loss to St. John’s in the Yellow Jackets’ first game of the Cayman Island Classic, Friday night. They were led by sophomore guard Talayah Walker and senior guard Catherine Alben, who each scored 18 points. Georgia Tech won the inside battle outscoring St. John’s 34-24 in the paint, but they couldn’t overcome the Red Storm’s 53.2 percent shooting night. Walker (12.9 ppg) and Alben (12.3 ppg) are the two Yellow Jackets averaging double figures in scoring this season, while six other members of the team are scoring between 4.9 and 9.3 points per contest
 
Florida and Georgia Tech are 1-1 against one another in their brief history. The Yellow Jackets won the first meeting between the clubs on Dec. 5, 1986, 82-72, while the Gators evened the series with a 68-58 win in Atlanta on Nov. 29, 2023. The Jackets got 30 points on 10 of 20 shooting from the field, and 6 of 10 from beyond the arc, from Rusne Augustinaite. Florida held the rest of the Yellow Jackets to just 13 for 43 from the floor and 0 for 10 from distance to secure the win. Laila Reynolds led the Gators with 18 points in the victory.
 
Georgia Tech (3-4)

A FLORIDA WIN WOULD …

• Improve the Gators record to 8-1 on the season.
• Improve Florida’s record against the Yellow Jackets to 2-1 overall.
• Improve Florida’s record in Thanksgiving week tournaments to 8-2 under Coach Finley.

TALE OF THE TAPE

Florida		Georgia Tech
81.6	PPG	70.9
57.0	OPP PPG	62.3
+24.6	SCORING MARGIN	+8.6
46.0	FG %	43.4
36.1	OPP FG%	36.3
25.9	3 FG%	32.0
28.7	OPP 3 FG%	28.5
4.8	3FG/G	4.6
70.6	FT %	66.3
42.8	REBOUNDS/G	42.9
34.5	OPP REBOUNDS/G	34.1
+8.3	REB MARGIN	+8.8
13.6	ASSISTS/G	17.0
14.8	TURNOVER/G	17.3
+0.92	A/TO RATIO	+0.98
11.4	STEALS/G	9.1
4.00	BLOCKS/G	4.29

 

PROJECTED FLORIDA STARTERS

 
GATOR BITES

• Through games of Friday, Nov. 28, Florida ranks ninth in the SEC this season in points per game (81.7), 10th in scoring margin (+24.6), 11th in field goal percentage (.460) and field goal percentage defense (.361), 10th in three-point field goal percentage defense (.287), ninth in steals (11.4), and seventh in turnover margin (+7.38).
• Liv McGill just missed out on her second career triple-double with a 26-point, 9-rebound, 9-assist effort vs. North Florida on Nov. 3. She came up two rebounds shy in the Gators following game against Chattanooga on Nov. 6 with 38 points, 10 assists and 8 rebounds.
• Liv McGill became the first player in Gators women’s basketball history to be named a US Basketball Writers Association National Player of the Week on Tuesday, Nov. 11. She averaged 27.7 points, 6.0 rebounds, 7.3 assists, and 5.00 steals while connecting on 40.9 percent of her three-point field goal attempts in Florida’s three wins. She also was named the SEC Player of the Week for her performance during that same stretch of games.
• Since the 1999-2000 season, only two players in the SEC have recorded three or more games of at least 25 points, five rebounds, five assists and five steals—Liv McGill (three in the first six games this season) and Ole Miss’ Armintie Price (four)
• Me’Arah O’Neal has four double-doubles this season after recording one in her freshman campaign.

PROJECTED GEORGIA TECH STARTERS

	No.	Ht.	Pos.	Class	Hometown / Previous Schools
Brianna Turnage	0	6-1	G	Sr.	Atlanta, Ga. / Florida State
Erica Moore	3	5-6	G	RS-So.	Atlanta, Ga. / Texas A&M
Ariadna Termis	20	6-6	C	Jr.	Zaragoza, Spain
Talayah Walker	21	5-10	G	So.	Odenton, Md.. / Penn State
Savannah Samuel	33	6-1	G	Gr.	Woodstock, Ga. / Boston College

YELLOW JACKETS QUICK HITS

• The Yellow Jackets were ranked as high as 13th in the AP poll last season on their way to a 22-11 record and their third NCAA Tournament appearances in the previous five years.
• All 10 players who have checked into at least one game for Georgia Tech this season, are averaging at least 16.3 minutes per game. No player is averaging more than 26.4 minutes per game.
• The Yellow Jackets have one of the most balanced scoring attacks in the nation as no player is averaging more than 13.0 points per game, but eight players are averaging between 4.9 and 12.9.
• Georgia Tech and Florida have one like opponent so far in 2025-26. The Gators beat Jacksonville, 100-55, on Nov. 10 while the Yellow Jackets dropped a 69-64 decision to the Dolphins on Nov. 16. Georgia Tech has also played West Georgia this season, beating the Wolves. 68-60, on Nov, 19. Florida hosts West Georgia on Dec. 14.

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