GREENVILLE, S.C. — The Florida Women’s Basketball Team (18-14) never trailed, Wednesday afternoon, as the Gators upended Mississippi State (18-13) 86-68 in the first round of the SEC Tournament. Me’Arah O’Neal and Liv McGill each scored 22 points in the win, with O’Neal shooting a particularly efficient seven of 12 from the field including four of six from distance. Florida’s win sets up a second round matchup against No. 7/8 Oklahoma Thursday, March 5 at 1:30 p.m. EST at Ben Secours Wellness Arena.

KEY RUNS

1st Quarter (Gators 21, Bulldogs 11)

• Florida scored eight of the first 10 points of the day with four different players denting the scoring column during that stretch. The Gators extended their lead to as many as 12 in the period, as they held the Bulldogs to four of 14 shooting from the field, and forced nine turnovers. Florida controlled the glass, 12-8, including 6-3 on the offensive end.  The Gators picked up eight of their points from the free throw line where they missed just one attempt. Liv McGill led all scorers in the first with six points.

2nd Quarter (Gators 46, Bulldogs 30)

• Mississippi State scored the first basket of the second, but Florida poured in the next five forcing the Bulldogs to call timeout with 7:50 remaining before the half. Mississippi State scored coming out of the huddle, but Florida netted the next six to extend its lead to 17, 32-15. Me’Arah O’Neal led all scorers with 11 points in the second on four of five shooting including three of four from three-point range. Both teams had key players in foul trouble in the first half as McGill and Alexia Dizeko each picked up three whistles for Florida, and Favour Nwaedozi and Madison Francis where called for three fouls each for the Bulldogs.

3rd Quarter (Gators 72, Bulldogs 46)

• The Gators’ lead vacillated between 16 and 20 points for most of the third period, but a late 9-2 Florida run gave the Gators their largest lead of the game at 26. Nwaedozi and Francis both picked up their fourth fouls of the game within the first four minutes of the third, and Francis fouled out with 1:34 to go in the stanza. Reynolds picked up her fourth with 1:49 to go. McGill scored nine points in the third, while O’Neal added seven. The Gators held the Bulldogs to five of 20 shooting from the field in the third.

4th Quarter (Gators 86, Bulldogs 68)

• Mississippi State outscored Florida 22-14 in the fourth, but the Gators’ lead never dipped below 17 in the final period.

KEY STATS

• Florida connected on 50.0 percent of its field goal attempts (28 for 56), while the Bulldogs made 34.8% of theirs (24 of 69).
• The Gators went 22 for 28 from the free throw line while Mississippi State made 15 of 25.
• Florida made eight of 21 three-pointers while the Bulldogs went five for 16.
• Mississippi State’s reserves outscored Florida’s bench 33-20. The Gators’ starters outscored the Bulldogs’ 66-35.
• Florida outscored Mississippi State 40-32 in the paint.

FROM THE GATORS’ MOUTHS 

• Coach Finley opening statement…

“First of all, thank you guys for all being here today. We appreciate your support. It was a great crowd, and a great atmosphere for a 1:30 tipoff, first round of the SEC Tournament. So hats off to the SEC for making that happen.

 

Really proud of our team’s effort. Wanted to finish a little bit better down the stretch right there, but that’s not to take away, start to finish, the focus and resiliency that’s required to win games in the SEC. That’s a really talented Mississippi State team that we knew was going to come out firing on all cylinders. We really set the tone with our defense which then led to our offense, and I think these two [Liv McGill and Me’Arah O’Neal] led the way for us.”

“She has grown overall, and I said it in the beginning (of the season) before we even started playing, that she is going to be a big key to our team, a big key to our success, and she’s shown that night in and night out, and I’m very proud of her. And this is just the beginning. I’m glad to have her on my left side, and have my back because I know she’s ride or die, always has my back no matter what.”

“We’ve been working a lot at it, even way back from the beginning of the season. So if we just keep going, and keep putting our best effort, I think we can be the best defensive team in this tournament.”

• Coach Finley on playing Oklahoma in the second round

“Oklahoma is a high-powered offensive team. I felt like we made some young errors late in the game [earlier in the season]. Experience would allow us to make those adjustments [tomorrow]. Raegan Beers is a force inside. Obviously, they’ve got high-powered scoring guards. Payton Verhulst and Sahara Williams bring a lot of experience to the fore, and a lot of toughness so we will absolutely have to match their toughness tomorrow.”

GATOR BITES

• The Gators are now 30-28 all-time against Mississippi State, and have won four straight in the series.
• Liv McGill scored in double figures for the 29th time in 30 games this season (22 points), and 20 or more points for the 18th time this year.
• Liv McGill’s 22 points in the game give her 1,280 for her career. She moved into 20th place on the program’s career scoring chart in the regular season finale against Georgia.
• Liv McGill’s 22 points give her 669 on the season, and extend her own program single-season scoring record.
• This was Liv McGill’s third game this season with 20 or more points and 10 or more assists. Nobody else in the country has as many 20-10 games this season.
• Me’Arah O’Neal scored in double figures for the 22nd time this season (22 points) and 20 or more points for the sixth time this year.
• Me’Arah O’Neal tied her career with four made three-pointers in the game.
• Florida led for 39:15 of the 40:00-minute game. The teams were tied for 45 seconds.
• The Gators’ 86 points are the most they have scored in a game since they dropped 89 in an 18-point win over Missouri on January 18.

NEXT OPPONENT
           Florida plays five-seed Oklahoma (No. 7/8 in the nation) in the second round of the SEC Tournament on Thursday, March 5. Tip at Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, S.C. is at 1:30 p.m. EST.

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