GREENVILLE, S.C. —The Florida Women’s Basketball Team battled No. 7/8 Oklahoma to a virtual draw in the first half of their second round, SEC Tournament game Thursday, but the Sooners opened the third quarter on a 10-0 run to take control of the game, advancing to the quarterfinals with an 82-64 victory.

KEY RUNS

1st Quarter (Gators 22, Sooners 22)

• Oklahoma scored seven straight early to open up a 12-5 lead with 6:35 remaining. Me’Arah O’Neal ended the run when she drained her second three-pointer of the day with 5:36 on the clock. That kick-started a string of 11 consecutive points for the Gators and forced the Sooners to call time out, trailing 16-12. Oklahoma’s Raegan Beers led all scorers with nine points, making all four of her attempts from the floor. Liv McGill went six for seven from the free throw line, and led the Gators with eight points.

2nd Quarter (Sooners 40, Gators 38)

• The Sooners scored the first four points of the second quarter to give them an 8-0 wrap-around run and regain the lead, 26-22. That lead ping-ponged between one and four points for the next five-plus minutes, but the Sooners scored five straight to go up eight, 38-30, with 2:18 left before intermission. Florida dropped in the last four points of the second to slice the halftime advantage to two. The Gators held Oklahoma to two of 13 shooting from distance in the first two quarters, and outrebounded the nation’s fourth most proficient rebounding team, 22-21. Liv McGill finished the half with 19 points to lead all scorers. Aaliyah Chavez led Oklahoma with 13

3rd Quarter (Sooners 67, Gators 45)

• Oklahoma scored the first 10 points of the third to go up 12, 50-38, with 7:53 left in the period. Florida missed four straight shots during that stretch while the Sooners made five of six from the field. KN’isha Godfrey’s fast-break layup ended the run, but Oklahoma scored another four straight points to lead by 14, 54-40. During that stretch, Liv McGill was whistled for a blocking foul, and exited the game with 5:31 on the clock to be looked at by team athletic trainer Tariq Kelly. She returned with 3:31 to go in the third, and Florida trailing 58-42. Oklahoma went 10 for 21 from the field in the period, while the Gators made three of 14.

4th Quarter (Sooners 82, Gators 64)

• Florida played Oklahoma even in the fourth, but wasn’t able to get any closer than 18 the rest of the way.

KEY STATS

• The Sooners outscored Florida 27-7 in the third quarter.
• Oklahoma connected on 43.1 percent of its field goal attempts (31 for 72), while the Gators made 35.6% of theirs (21 of 59).
• The Sooners outscored Florida 48-32 in the paint.
• Oklahoma outrebounded the Gators 47-39 including 17-10 on the offensive end which led to a 13-7 advantage in second chance points.
• Florida committed 24 turnovers which the Sooners flipped into 23 points while Oklahoma was credited with 19 miscues which the Gators turned into 15 points.

GATOR BITES

• Florida is 5-4 over its last nine games with a win over No. 19/20 Ole Miss during that stretch. All four losses have come against top-25 competition, including two against top-10 teams.
• The Gators are now 1-4 all-time against Oklahoma, and have lost four straight to the Sooners
• Liv McGill scored in double figures for the 30th time in 31 games this season (28 points), and 20 or more points for the 19th time this year.
• Liv McGill’s 28 points in the game give her 1,308 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 28 points give her 697 on the season, and extend her own program single-season scoring record.
• Liv McGill tied her career high with 13 made free throws.
• Me’Arah O’Neal scored in double figures for the 23rd time this season (10 points).

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