Gators Women’s Basketball’s Path to Extending Season at SEC Tournament
After a regular season full of strife and underperformance, Florida women’s basketball stares down the end of its 2025-26 campaign.
With the SEC Tournament beginning Wednesday, a stand at Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, S.C., is Florida’s sole way to extend its season as much as possible with NCAA Tournament hopes almost out of the picture.
The 12-seeded Gators (17-14, 5-11 SEC) have struggled in a stacked league this season, and they will look for a different result as they see many familiar faces during this tournament.
“I believe we are going to have a strong postseason run,” Florida coach Kelly Rae Finley said.
For the Gators to bring their coach’s words to fruition, they will have to get past some formidable opponents that stand in their way.
Round One – Mississippi State
The 13 seed Bulldogs are another team that has had similar struggles as Florida with their conference slate. The Gators have faced Mississippi State (18-12, 5-11) once already this season on Feb. 19 and came out on top in Starkville, 71-56.
“It’s tough to beat a team twice, especially in such a short turnaround,” said Robert Cessna, Associated Press poll voter and writer and editor for Bryan College Station Eagle.
To come out on top again, the Gators have to repeat what worked for them in the last meeting. Much of that success came from Liv McGill.
The sophomore guard dropped 30 points on the Bulldogs on 12-of-22 shooting from the field. She also added five rebounds and seven assists. McGill comes off her first single-digit outing of the season against Georgia on Sunday and will look to get back to her dominance come tournament time.
Despite McGill’s significant contributions, Florida’s edge was also its scoring versatility. Laila Reynolds and Me’Arah O’Neal also posted double-digit performances with 19 and 10 points, respectively. O’Neal also added seven rebounds.
Meanwhile, only one Bulldog managed to crack double-digits. Madison Francis posted a double-double with 20 points and 13 rebounds on 7-of-13 shooting from the field.
Florida held Mississippi State to just 37.5% shooting and an abysmal 8.3% from deep. The Gators were not much more successful from beyond the arc either, shooting 22.2%, but they made up for it with their success in the paint, shooting 46.4%.
“You’re talking about survival,” Cessna said. “It’s going to be a big win or a lousy loss depending on what side of it you’re in.”
Florida will look to do just that starting at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday (SEC Network).
Round Two – Oklahoma
If Florida comes up with the win, next on its list is No. 5 seed Oklahoma (23-6, 11-5), which earned a first-round bye.
Despite Oklahoma being one of the more formidable teams in the conference, the Gators put up a good fight when the two met Feb. 12. The Gators held a slim lead for most of the game, and only fell 81-74 after giving up 27 points in the fourth quarter to their 17.
Final score aside, the Sooners were a solid matchup for Florida. UF shot 49.2% from the field and 36.8% from deep, able to get by Oklahoma’s defense. Oklahoma shot similarly despite its first-half slump, shooting a dominating 69.15% and 42.65% from 3-point range in the second half. But if Florida can dominate like it did in the first half, it will again pose a threat to the Sooners.
“If Florida can get to Oklahoma, Oklahoma wouldn’t be playing for as much as Florida would, so then you are talking about what two wins would do for you. Man, if they can beat Mississippi State, then you beat Oklahoma, you’re up seven league wins, at least you’d probably be in the conversation,” Cessna said.
This time, to grab the win, Florida will look to reduce turnovers, especially late in the game. The Sooners scored 28 points off Gator turnovers in the last meeting, a crucial piece of Florida’s loss. Oklahoma was also able to control the pace. It scored 16 fast-break points to Florida’s two, challenging Florida’s defense and not allowing it to get set.
Florida and the Sooners would face off Thursday at 1:30 p.m. (SEC Network) .
Round Three – Louisiana State University
If the Gators are able to advance to the quarterfinals, they would face the four seed Tigers, who earned a double-bye into Friday’s games.
Their showing against LSU (26-4, 12-4) was one of the worst of the season, falling in Baton Rouge 89-60 on Jan. 26.
LSU was one of McGill’s worst showings of the season. While 14 points, eight rebounds and four assists isn’t anything to scoff, McGill was far more inefficient than her normal. She went 0 of 6 from beyond the arc and went 6 of 17 from the field.
But she was not alone in her struggles from 3-point range. None of Florida’s starters managed to hit from deep, with most of the team’s production coming from the bench. The Gators’ bench put up 27 points, led by Jade Weathersby’s 11 and freshman Nidi Yiech’s eight. But the Tigers also showed off their depth, matching Florida’s reserve production.
The Gators also got into foul trouble by committing 26. O’Neal picked up four, scoring only three points before sitting, and she was one of two starters to rack up four fouls besides Caterina Piatti, who put up just two points.
Beyond the Tigers, if the Gators advance, the rest of their tournament field will be uncertain, but their side of the bracket includes top seed South Carolina. But no matter who Florida would face, it will need to be at its best.
“This is a tough league to pick up games,” Cessna said.
Category: College Baseball, Gator Sports, Gators Women's Basketball
