Liv McGill Leads Florida Women’s Basketball in Cayman Islands

Florida women’s basketball spent Thanksgiving weekend at the Cayman Islands Classic. The Gators won both of their two games, the first win came Friday, 74-60, against Memphis and the next a 65-56 decision against Georgia Tech on Saturday. 

Sophomore Liv McGill, who ranks third in the country in points per game, was named the Most Outstanding Player of the tournament. McGill scored 27 points in each game and averaged 4.5 rebounds and four assists. The guard is now at 10 straight games scoring 10 or more points.

McGill and Me’Arah O’Neal combined for 51 of the Gators’ 74 points against Memphis. 

Memphis was held to just 10 points in each of the first two quarters. Florida’s largest lead of the game was in the fourth quarter when it led by 19 points. The Tigers were held to a .311 shooting percentage and were outrebounded 51-37. 

“I think that Memphis is a really good basketball team,” UF coach Kelly Rae Finley said. “They’re scrappy, they’re tough, they play hard. I’m really proud of how we rose to the occasion. We train to be able to adapt, and I thought that really showed tonight.”

The Gators (8-1) continued to rise to the occasion on Saturday when they held Georgia Tech to zero 3-pointers and a .348 shooting percentage. 

The game was tied at 18 a piece for more than three minutes in the second quarter, but the Gators went into halftime up by four. 

Florida’s defense held the Yellow Jackets to eight points in the second and third quarters to enter the fourth with a 12-point lead. 

Georgia Tech made eight free throws, while Florida had 15, 13 from McGill, a single-game career high and the third most in program history.

The Gators next play Thursday at 5 p.m. ET at Virginia Tech (6-2) as part of the SEC/ACC Challenge, where 16 teams from each conference will face off.

Category: Gator Sports, Gators Women's Basketball, NCAA, Women's College Basketball