Gators Women’s Basketball Seeks 3-0 Start, Hosts Jacksonville
Florida women’s basketball faces Jacksonville University at 7 tonight following a 2-0 start to its season after defeating North Florida and Chattanooga last week.
The Gators are led by sophomore Liv McGill, who logged 64 points, 17 rebounds, 19 assists and 12 steals in the first two games. Against the Mocs, she shattered Florida’s home scoring record with a career-high 38 points.
“It [comes from] countless hours put in, countless hours with my teammates, countless hours of us drilling, work,” she said after Thursday’s win. “I guess the basketball gods were just in my favor today, and we won. And that’s what matters. It was a great team win, and everybody contributed. It’s a blessing to set a record.”
Sophomore forward Me’Arah O’Neal also notched her third career double-double Thursday against Chattanooga with 14 points and 10 rebounds.
The tandem of McGill and O’Neal will look to continue its dominance against Jacksonville (2-0) in the O’Connell Center (98.1-FM/850-AM WRUF) .
The Dolphins also enter on a roll after topping Charleston Southern University and Florida Tech last week. Freshman guard Tatum Brown leads Jacksonville after scoring 36 points, five rebounds and seven assists this season.
Priscilla Williams is the Dolphins’ second leading scorer and leading rebounder, logging 26 points and 21 rebounds in her first two games. Guards Comari Mitchell and Makiya Mitchell have also contributed, combining for 40 points and 15 rebounds.
Florida has found success forcing turnovers and have outshot its last two opponents from the field. The Gators went 35 of 67 from the field against the Mocs and shot 53.8% against North Florida. The Gators forced 31 turnovers for 44 points against the Ospreys and will look to continue to put pressure on Jacksonville.
Junior Laila Reynolds and freshmen Caterina Piatti and Nyadeing Yiech also made an impact for the Gators. Reynolds added 19 points against the Ospreys while Piatti got her first career start. Both freshmen clinched double digits with Yiech coming off the bench. Alexia Dizeko has also shone out defensively, consistently guarding opponents’ best scorers.
“Alexia Dizeko does a lot of things that don’t end up on the stat sheet,” UF coach Kelly Rae Finley said. “She just wants to win. She wants the Gators to be great, and I would say that is the absolute mindset of our entire roster.”
Category: College Basketball, Gator Sports, Gators Women's Basketball, University of Florida
