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The Florida Gators tip off round one of the inaugural Women’s Basketball Invitation Tournament today in the O’Dome against St. John’s.
WBIT invite accepted 🎉
We’ll host St. John’s (NY) Thursday, March 21st at home. Tip-off is at 6pm! pic.twitter.com/XM9u7mtDh4
— Gators Women’s Basketball (@GatorsWBK) March 18, 2024
Recent Games
The Gators’ most recent games were in the SEC Tournament, where they defeated Missouri and Vanderbilt, but fell to Ole Miss 84-74 in the quarterfinals.
Final from Greenville.#GoGators | Presented by @WellsFargo pic.twitter.com/3Ti1qq7IVz
— Gators Women’s Basketball (@GatorsWBK) March 9, 2024
Leading the Gators in their quarterfinals matchup was senior guard Aliyah Matharu with 24 points. Senior guard Leilani Correa followed with 18 points and nine rebounds and Zippy Broughton with 12 points. Freshman guard Laila Reynolds added four boards and five blocks.
St. John’s (17-14) was also able to reach the ACC tournament quarterfinals before falling 53-44 to Georgetown.
Final from Mohegan Sun pic.twitter.com/6DKLwaOCe3
— St. John's WBB (@StJohnsWBB) March 10, 2024
Leading the Red Storm was forward Jillian Archer with 16 points. Guard Unique Drake added 10 points.
The Gators (16-15), in their fourth consecutive postseason tourney, are coming into the WBIT as a three seed, while the Red Storm are entering unseeded.
Notable Players
Matharu, Correa and Ra Shaya Kyle each had the highest scoring seasons for the Gators. Matharu averaged 18.9 points per game, Correa averaged 17.4 and Kyle averaged 12.4. Kyle also led the team in rebounding with 9.2 boards per game.
St. John’s has been led by Unique Drake, who averaged 17.7, Jillian Archer (11.3) and Ber’Nyah Mayo (10.7). Archer leads the team in rebounding with 7.7 rebounds per game.
Game History
The teams have faced off three times. The last matchup was in 2014, when the Gators fell 72-66. The Gators won the first meeting in 2013.
Media Coverage
The game is set to tip off at 7 p.m. and will be streamed on ESPN+. ESPN Gainesville 98.1-FM/850-AM WRUF will also have coverage starting at 6:40 p.m.
