GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The Florida Women’s Basketball Team once again put an early scare into a top-10 opponent, holding No. 4/4 Texas to just 16 points in the first quarter. The Longhorns (20-2, 5-2) offense got going in the second, particularly in the paint where they enjoyed a 60-30 advantage on the night, and pulled away in the fourth for an 88-68 victory. The “Big Three” of Liv McGill, Me’Arah O’Neal and Laila Reynolds combined to score 50 points for the Gators (13-10, 1-7).

KEY RUNS

1st Quarter (Gators 19, Longhorns 16)

• The Gators jumped out to an early 6-2 lead thanks to a pair of back-to-back threes by Me’Arah O’Neal and Laila Reynolds, but the Longhorns scored the next 10 in a row to go up six. It was a 16-8 Texas advantage with 3:00 on the clock, when the Gators turned up the defensive intensity, forcing four Longhorns miscues over the final three minutes, while scoring 11 consecutive points, including a three at the buzzer by O’Neal. That basket gave the sophomore 11 points in the period. The Gators forced the Longhorns into seven turnovers in the period—more than half of Texas’ season average of 11.2 per game

2nd Quarter (Longhorns 42, Gators 31)

• Texas scored the first six points of the period to regain the lead, and a 12-4 Longhorns run midway through the stanza gave them a 10-point cushion, 38-28. Texas went 12 for 16 from the field in the quarter, while Florida made four of their 14 shots. Preseason SEC player of the year Madison Booker scored eight points in the second, and Jordan Lee and Ashton Judd scored six apiece.

3rd Quarter (Longhorns 67, Gators 53)

• The Longhorns’ lead vacillated between 10 and 16 points for the entirety of the quarter. Florida took just seven shots in the period, making five, but they also went 11 of 14 from the charity stripe. Laila Reynolds’ eight points in the third led all scorers.

4th Quarter (Longhorns 88, Gators 68)

• A 9-0 Texas run early in the fourth pushed the Longhorns advantage to a game-high 23, and Florida was never able to get closer than 20 the rest of the way.

KEY STATS

• The Longhorns made 56.1% of their field goal attempts (37 of 66), while the Gators made 44.9% of theirs (22 of 49).
• Florida went 18 for 23 from the free throw line while Texas made 11 of 17.
• The Longhorns forced 21 Florida turnovers and flipped them into 26 points, while the Gators turned 13 Texas miscues into 13 points. Texas turned the ball over seven times in the first quarter and six the rest of the game.
• Florida made 6 of 16 (.375) from three-point range, while the Longhorns went 3 for 10 (.300).
• The Longhorns outscored the Gators 60-30 in the paint.
• Texas outrebounded Florida 16-11 on the offensive glass, leading to a 16-9 edge in second chance points.
• Texas’ bench outscored the Gators’ 33-15.

FROM THE GATORS’ (AND LONGHORNS’) MOUTHS

• Texas Head Coach Vic Schaefer on the Gators in his opening statement…

  • “First of all, I think Florida’s really good. I’ve been concerned about this one. I think they’ve been in every game for the most part, especially in conference they’re the best 1-6 conference team in the country. They’re just so talented and coach is doing a great job with them.”

• Coach Finley opening statement…

  • “It was a hard fought game. Texas is one of the best teams in the country for a reason. I was proud of my team, I thought that they had a lot of carry over on a lot of things we worked on in practice. We closed rebounding gap quite a bit. Obviously, Texas was going to want to get to the paint. 60 paint points is far too many. I thought first, third and fourth quarter were good, second quarter got a little bit away from us and that was a separation in the game.”

• Coach FInley on the upcoming match up against Vanderbilt…

  • “I think Vanderbilt is a good match up for the Gators. I like the character of our team, and character is revealed when you don’t get what you want. We will have played the top of the league, playing three-top six teams in seven days, four, five and six which has never been done before. I think it’s a tremendous challenge, but we’re up for the challenge to continue to help us improve and help this program to take the next step forward. I know our team will show up tomorrow. They will show up with great resolve, they’re people of great character and great resiliency. And prepare to play a very talented Vanderbilt team. Shea Ralph is a tremendous coach, they’re going to throw a lot of different defensive looks at us, try to speed us up. I think our guards are going to do a great job of handling that. We have to be committed to playing with pace and poise and composure.”

• Laila Reynolds on what kept her present in the game…

  • “Just fight. I don’t think throughout the game until zero-zero if I’m being honest. Until there is zero seconds on the clock, just continue to fight and tell my teammates to fight with me.”

• Laila Reynolds on the message of the veteran players to the team going into Vanderbilt…

  • “Turning the page to Vanderbilt now. The game is over with, and I have to have my team ready to fight on Sunday. This game is over with at this point, so just knowing what it takes to win against Vanderbilt now.”

Post Game Press Conference: Head Coach Kelly Rae Finley and Laila Reynolds

GATOR BITES

• The Gators are now 3-3 all-time against Texas.
• Liv McGill scored in double figures for the 23rd straight game (15 points).
• Liv McGill’s 15 points in the game give her 1,085 for her career, moving her to within 13 points of Jana Bragg ’88 in 24th place on the Gators’ career scoring chart with 1,098 points.
• Laila Reynolds scored in double figures for the 17th time this season (18 points).
• Me’Arah O’Neal scored in double figures for the 16th time this season (17 points), and 20 or more points for the fifth time this year.
• The most points a team has scored against Texas all season is 71. The Gators scored 68.
• Florida’s 44.9 percent shooting from the field is the fifth best output against the Longhorns this season.

NEXT OPPONENT
           The Gators string of games against Top-10 opponents continues as they travel to No. 5/6 Vanderbilt on Sunday, Feb. 1. Tip at Memorial is slated for 4 p.m. EST, and the game is being broadcast on SECN.

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