Florida Women’s Basketball Bashes Bucknell in Tammi Reiss’ Debut

Two transfers combined for 57 points as Florida opened the Tammi Reiss era Monday night at the O’Connell Center in blowout fashion.

Kiyomi McMiller and Vanessa Harris powered an 83-60 win over Bucknell. The Bison, who held opponents to the 21st-lowest scoring average in Division I last season, had no answer for the offensive firepower of the revamped Gators roster, which shot 55% and outrebounded Bucknell 42-26.

“Our guard play was stellar today,” Reiss said. “I literally could’ve run anything going downhill, and Vanessa and Kiy executed it.”

It was Reiss’ first win as Florida’s head coach and the Gators’ eighth straight season-opening win. Their 54.8% shooting was a program record for a season opener.

The Gators opened with a slower start than their preseason win against Flagler on Wednesday. Against the Saints, Florida scored 107 points, including 18 unanswered points to open the game. Against Bucknell, the Gators still led 27-14 after the first quarter, with Harris scoring 11 and McMiller eight.

One familiar face for the Bison was McMiller. A year ago with Penn State, she finished with a win against Bucknell, scoring 24 points and going 11-of-19 from the floor.

For her regular-season debut in orange and blue, McMiller added to the offense with a roaring 31 points and six rebounds, going 14-of-25 from the floor. Her 31 points were the third-most by a Gator in a season opener, and her 14 made field goals also ranked third.

The Gators point guard showed the winning mentality Reiss said she expected of her by distributing the ball, adding five assists and allowing seven players to contribute to the team’s total.

“I think being aggressive creates openings for my teammates,” McMiller said. “When I drive in and the offense collapses, I can kick it out, and I know Vanessa over there, 3-5 [from 3-point range], that is pretty good if I say so myself.”

Despite the dominant win over the Bison, the Gators hit a rough patch in the second quarter. Bucknell went on an 11-0 run while Florida went more than five minutes without scoring, and McMiller snapped the drought on the last possession of the half to make it 42-25.

Florida’s frontcourt was what kept the lead safe, demonstrating its size and skill advantage off the glass. Aurora Almón grabbed 10 rebounds in 21 minutes off the bench, breaking her previous career high of seven, and Jordan Jones, Harris and McMiller each added six.

“I didn’t know how she was going to feel coming in,” Reiss said. “Her activity, her relentlessness, that’s what she does. She’s a rebounder.”

McMiller and the 2026 Atlantic 10 Sixth Woman of the Year, Vanessa Harris, kept finding space on the court. Harris, making her first career start, broke her career high in points early in the third quarter. In her freshman campaign for Rhode Island, she set her career high with 19 points against Holy Cross. Nearly a year later, she broke that mark with just under 18 minutes left on the clock.

She finished the game with 26 points and six rebounds on 11-of-16 shooting. Florida led 62-42 after three quarters, helped by an and-one from McMiller, and shot 76.9% in the fourth.

“My first game as a Gator, it meant a lot,” Harris said. “I mean, it’s a career high, so whether I was at Florida or if I was still at Rhode Island, just doing something new was exciting for me.”

Florida’s defense, which Reiss said left her “disappointed” in the second half against Flagler, brought pressure to an already low-scoring Bucknell team. The Bison averaged 52.7 points per game in the 2025-26 season, the fourth-lowest in Division I women’s basketball. Bucknell shot 37% and went 7-of-18 from 3-point range, getting 18 points from Elana Weisman.

Florida returns to action Thursday, Nov. 5, against UCF at 4:30 p.m. at the O’Connell Center, tipping off a doubleheader. The men’s team follows with its home opener at 8 p.m.

Although she’s only a sophomore, Reiss named Harris one of the “leaders” of the team. In both the preseason exhibition game and the season opener, Harris was also named Gator of the Game.

“I just want to be the coach within the team,” Harris said. “All teams are player led.”

Category: Feature Sports News, Gator Sports, Gators Women's Basketball