GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The Florida Women’s Basketball Team (11-3) looks to get back to its winning ways this Sunday with a 2 p.m. EST tip against Furman at Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center.
 
The Gators had their 10-game, home winning streak snapped last Sunday in a 74-67 defeat at the hands of the Tulsa Golden Hurricane. The loss also ended Florida’s 15-game home winning streak against non-conference opposition. The Gators managed to erase a 13-point, fourth quarter deficit against Tulsa, but the Golden Hurricane scored the final eight points of the game to eke out the victory. Liv McGill scored a team-high 19 points and added nine assists in the loss, while Laila Reynolds and Nyadieng “Nidi” Yiech scored 14 and 11 points respectively.
 
Through games of Thursday, Dec. 25 (Merry Christmas!), McGill ranks second in the nation in scoring (25.4), fourth in steals per game (3.92), and 15th in assists per game (6.1). One of the most complete players in the nation, McGill has three games this season in which she has scored at least 25 points, handed out at least five assists, grabbed at least five rebounds, and recorded at least five steals. The remaining 4500+ players in Division I women’s basketball have combined for just five such games.
 
Sophomore Me’Arah O’Neal is averaging 13.7 points and 7.9 rebounds per game, and is tied for ninth in the nation with six double-doubles on the year. Junior Leila Reynolds (12.9 ppg) gives the Gators a trio of double figure scorers on the season.
 
After opening the 2025-26 campaign with a 2-5 record, Furman has won four of its last five games. Two of those early losses came on the road to SEC opponents Georgia (91-45) and Vanderbilt (96-48).
 
The Paladins were picked to finish fifth in the Southern Conference in the preseason coaches poll. They rank 53rd in the nation in steals with 10.9 per game, and 37th in turnovers, forcing opponents into an average of 21.6 miscues per game.
 
Sophomore forward Clare Coyle was named to the preseason all-conference team, and she leads Furman in scoring this year averaging 14.4 points per. Alyssa Ervin (11.7 ppg) and Raina McGowens (10.7) are also averaging double figures in scoring for the Paladins. Although Coyle is connecting on 55.5 percent of her shots from the field, the rest of the team combines to make just 35.7 percent of its field goal attempts.
 
Florida is 3-0 all-time against Furman, with a pair of wins in the early 1990s, and the most recent victory coming on Nov. 21 2022 in a 77-50 decision. Alberte Rimdal’s 19 points led four Gators in double figures in the teams’ last meeting as she drilled four three-pointers.
 
Furman (6-6)

A FLORIDA WIN WOULD …

• Improve the Gators record to 12-3 on the year, which would be the second most wins in program history prior to the end of the calendar year.
• Improve Florida’s record to 9-1 at home on the season.
• Improve the Gators’ record to 34-4 at home during the months of November and December in the Kelly Rae Finley era, including 9-1 this season.
• Improve the Gators’ record to 4-0 against Furman, and 2-0 against Southern Conference foes this year.

TALE OF THE TAPE

Florida		Furman
77.5	PPG	68.1
57.6	OPP PPG	66.6
+19.9	SCORING MARGIN	+1.5
45.7	FG %	39.2
35.9	OPP FG%	41.2
26.1	3 FG%	30.6
27.0	OPP 3 FG%	33.5
4.6	3FG/G	5.8
70.0	FT %	64.5
42.5	REBOUNDS/G	39.6
34.3	OPP REBOUNDS/G	38.8
+8.2	REB MARGIN	+0.8
13.8	ASSISTS/G	13.8
16.4	TURNOVER/G	19.9
+0.84	A/TO RATIO	+0.70
11.3	STEALS/G	10.9
4.71	BLOCKS/G	4.08

 

PROJECTED FLORIDA STARTERS

 
GATOR BITES

• Through games of Saturday, Dec. 27 (Merry Christmas!), Florida is . 12th in the SEC this season in points per game (77.5) … 11th in scoring defense (57.6) … 12th in scoring margin (+19.9) … 11th in field goal percentage (.457) … 11th in field goal percentage defense (.359) … 16th in three-point field goal percentage (.261) … fourth in three-point field goal percentage defense (.270) … Ninth in offensive rebound percentage (.389) … 13th in defensive rebound percentage (.706) … 15th in assists (13.8) … seventh in steals (11.3) … 10th in blocked shots (4.71) … and 12th in turnover margin (+4.21).
• The Gators have held 12 of 13 opponents this season below 70 points.
• Florida is ranked 18th in the nation in free throw attempts per game (22.9)
• Florida’s NET rating, which helps determine which teams make the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Championship, is No. 62 through games of Thursday, Dec. 25 (Merry Christmas!).
• 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.
• Liv McGill was named the most outstanding player of the Grand Cayman Classic over Thanksgiving weekend when she averaged 27.0 points, 4.5 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 2.00 steals and 1.00 blocked shots.
• Liv McGill has three games this season of at least 25 points, five rebounds, five assists and five steals. The other 4,500-+ players competing in women’s basketball at the Division I level have five 25-5-5-5 games … combined.

PROJECTED FURMAN STARTERS

	No.	Ht.	Pos.	Class	Hometown / Previous Schools
Lauren Bailey	0	5-8	G	Jr.	Greenville, Tenn. / Gardner-Webb
Clare Coyle	2	6-1	F	So.	Jacksonville, Fla. /
Kyraha Parnell	4	6-3	F	So.	Galax, Va. / George Washington
Raina McGowens	5	5-10	G	So.	Pelzer, S.C. /
Chantelle Stuart	10	5-9	G	So.	Scarborough, Ontario /

PALADINS QUICK HITS

• The Paladins were picked to finish fifth out of eight teams in the Southern Conference preseason coaches’ poll.
• Furman is second in the SoCon in scoring average (68.1 ppg), and rebounds per game (39.6 rpg).
• The last time the Paladins finished a season with a winning record was in 2021-22, when they were 20-14 and 10-4 in conference.
• Tulsa is 5-2 at home this season, but 1-4 on the road.
• Sophomore forward Clare Coyle was named to the Preseason All-Southern Conference Team.
• Clare Coyle scored a career-high 31 points against Mars Hill on Dec. 14 of this year.

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