GAINESVILLE, Fla. — LeRoy Neiman, who rose to fame as America’s most celebrated sports artist of the 20th Century, could not have painted a better scene.

The O’Dome was packed Friday night, shaded in pink to honor those who have battled breast cancer. The fifth-ranked Gators, decked in their shiny pink leotards, faced the No. 1-ranked Oklahoma Sooners, winners of three of the last four national championships.

This was women’s college gymnastics at its finest, and included Olympic hero Aly Raisman as part of the ESPN2 broadcast team. On a night full of options for Florida fans, a sold-out crowd of more than 9,000 turned out to watch a potential matchup in late April at the NCAA Championships in Fort Worth.

“It really was electric in the O’Dome,” Gators coach Jenny Rowland said. “We felt it.”

The sport’s popularity is built around the high-flying athleticism and artistry of the gymnasts, and both teams delivered on the bright stage. But if there was a blotch in Friday’s picture, at least in the eyes of the home crowd, it was that the Sooners departed town with their first regular-season victory at the O’Dome in eight tries.

The eventual outcome did not take long to emerge once competition began.

“We kind of kicked ourselves a little bit at the beginning,” Rowland said.

The Gators, starting on vault, never found their footing in the opening rotation other than a team-best 9.900 from Danie Ferris. The trouble even found Ms. Reliable, senior Selena Harris-Miranda. As Harris-Miranda prepared to race down the runway and launch herself through the air, the ESPN crew discussed how she was almost an automatic to lift Florida’s score. Alas, Harris-Miranda failed to rotate fully and landed with bent knees, steadying herself to avoid falling, but her 9.600 was dropped from the team score.

That was the first sign that this might not be Florida’s night. At the end of the first rotation, the Sooners held a commanding 49.450-48.975 lead. It also raised questions about where the Gators were headed.

They entered their matchup against the Sooners coming off a doomed trip to Missouri, where they lost to the Tigers and posted a score of 196.500, the program’s lowest mark since a 196.325 was good enough for a win at Kentucky in 2018. The Gators fell, stumbled and looked out of their natural habitat.

When they returned home and turned their attention to the Sooners, they regrouped, and Rowland did her best Ted Lasso impersonation. She talked to the Gators about being goldfish, owners of 10-second memories.

Forget the past. Get back up. Move on to the next event. They billed Friday night’s meeting as a redemption meet, the Gators vs. the Gators.

The ploy paid dividends as the Gators turned in a massive performance on the uneven bars with a 49.650, the best score in the country this season. Every Gator posted a 9.9 or better, with Riley McCusker leading the way with a 9.975, followed closely by Kayla DiCello (9.95) and Skye Blakely (9.925).

Just like that, the Gators were back in it, trimming the Sooners’ lead to .250 at the midway point.

“I think it showed that they could put something behind them,” Rowland said. “It felt like the momentum kept getting stronger and stronger. I’m extremely proud of the fight, the finish, the grit that this team ended on.”

Florida turned in another strong effort on the beam, highlighted by Harris-Miranda’s 9.95, and remained in contention heading into the final rotation. That is where the comeback bid ended.

Harris-Miranda (9.975) and Blakely (9.950) starred on Florida’s floor routine, but Oklahoma killed its beam rotation, posting a national-best 49.700, as every Sooner scored a 9.900 or better.

Afterward, a mixture of regret and hope hung over the Gators.

“There’s a lot to be proud of, but there’s also like that chip on your shoulder,” Harris-Miranda said. “We did work so hard to put it together in the gym, and to kind of see it happen towards the end when we competed, it just makes us light the fire a little brighter when we get back to practice.”

McCusker, who bounced back from an uncharacteristic 9.400 on uneven bars at Missouri to come within a picky judge of a perfect 10 on Friday, said she saw fantastic performances all around against the Sooners.

“I’m really excited for this team,” McCusker said. “We’re right there. Once we put all the puzzle pieces together, we’re going to be unstoppable.”

The home stretch of the regular season is here. Florida has road meets remaining at Georgia, Texas Women’s University and Kentucky, and its final home meet on March 8 against LSU. Then the prolonged postseason starts in late March at the Southeastern Conference Championships.

The Gators will see the Sooners again, and if all goes well, more than once.

In the Gators’ eyes, the small details have let them down the past two meets. They believe they can get past them. They lost to the Sooners, but they won back confidence.

“Stood up tall and really did what these Gators are able to do. That’s really great to see,” Rowland said. “There is no such thing as a perfect meet. How do we minimize those mistakes? I saw a lot of that fight and grit. I believe it was a good step forward.”

It’s that time for an age-old question in sports: where do they go from here?

The answer will paint the final picture of what kind of season it was for the Gators.