Gators Women’s Basketball Tips Off Season Against North Florida
Florida women’s basketball opens its season at 7 p.m. today against North Florida in the O’Connell Center. The Gators will look much different from last year under coach Kelly Rae Finley.
“We believe it’s not only a new season ahead of us, but a new opportunity to write this next chapter the way that we feel is best suited for Florida women’s basketball,” Finley said at SEC Media Day last month.
Last season, the Gators finished 19-18 and fell in the third round of the SEC Tournament to LSU. However, they found success in the Women’s Basketball Invitation Tournament, making it to the semifinals before falling to Minnesota. They will look to build on their close to last year’s campaign.
The Gators graduated five seniors and will feature a more youthful team this year with four freshmen, three sophomores, three juniors, one senior and a graduate student.
Forward Nidi Yiech headlines Florida’s incoming freshman class. The Canada native was the No. 77 prospect in her recruiting class and played for Canada in the 2025 FIBA U19 Women’s World Cup. She is joined by Emilija Dakic, who won gold in the 2024 U18 FIBA Asia Cup.
The Gators return sophomore guard Liv McGill, who led Florida last season, averaging 16.5 points per game. She was a McDonald’s All-America in 2024 and made the 2025 SEC All-Freshmen Team. McGill will be a crucial piece of the Gators backcourt this season and should be a leader after her experience playing with Team USA this past summer.
Laila Reynolds will join in the backcourt. Reynolds had 21 double-digit scoring performances last season and averaged 10.3 points per game. A significant piece of Florida’s frontcourt, graduate student forward Alexia Dizeko, returns for her third season. With the departure of center Ra Shaya Kyle and forward Eriny Kindred, she will be a staple of Florida’s frontcourt.
To round out their core returning group, the Gators brought back sophomore Me’Arah O’Neal. She was named a McDonald’s All-America in 2024 and was a top-50 recruit.
North Florida will look completely different than it did when the two faced off last season. The Ospreys went 5-26 and 1-17 in the Atlantic Sun Conference in 2024-25. However, their roster has turned over. Sophomore guard Jamisyn Stinson is North Florida’s only top-five scorer from the 2024-25 season who will be on the floor this year. She projects as one of the Ospreys’ primary scoring options after starting 11 games last season and averaging 7.8 points and two rebounds per game.
The Ospreys had success in the transfer portal, acquiring junior guard Elle Blatchford, who averaged 12 points, 3.7 rebounds and 1.4 steals per game last season at Gardner Webb. They also added junior guard Alonya Waldon, who averaged 6.6 points per game last season at Samford.
Abby Knauff, the No. 14 recruit in the state of Florida, and guard Soraya Ogaldez, the No. 11 recruit out of Washington, headline North Florida’s freshman class. Florida will also see Gainesville native freshman guard Jamison Cardwell. She played for Gainesville High School and was No. 29 in the state.
Florida is 8-0 in the all-time series against the Ospreys. You can find coverage of the game on 98.1-FM/850-AM WRUF starting at 6:40 p.m. today.
Category: Basketball, College Basketball, Gator Sports, Gators Women's Basketball, SEC
