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Florida women's basketball defeated the Mississippi State Bulldogs in the first round of the SEC Tournament, 86-68, on Wednesday night.
The Gators never trailed in the victory, improving to 18-14 on the season. The 18-point margin of victory is the largest ever in SEC Tournament play for the program.
Florida will face the No. 7/8 Oklahoma Sooners in the second round of the tournament on Thursday at 1:30 p.m. ET at Ben Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, South Carolina.
"Really proud of our team's effort," head coach Kelly Rae Finley said. "Wanted to finish a little bit better down the stretch right there, but that's not to take away, start to finish, the focus and resiliency that's required to win games in the SEC.
"That's a really talented Mississippi State team that we knew was going to come out firing on all cylinders. We really set the tone with our defense, which then led to our offense, and I think (Liv McGill and Me'Arah O'Neal) led the way for us."
McGill and O'Neal each scored 22 points, with O'Neal shooting 7-for-12 from the field and 4-for-6 from 3-point range and McGill posting her third 20-point-10-assist game of the year — a national high.
McGill scored in double figures for the 29th time in 30 games this season, and it's the 18th time she scored 20 or more. She moved into 20th place on the Gators' all-time scoring list with 1,280 for he career, including a team single-season record of 669 on the year.
It's O'Neal's 22nd time scoring double figures this year and her sixth time scoring 20 or more. She tied a career high with four made three-pointers.
"She has grown overall, and I said it in the beginning (of the season) before we even started playing, that she is going to be a big key to our team, a big key to our success, and she's shown that night in and night out, and I'm very proud of her, "McGill said of O'Neal. "And this is just the beginning. I'm glad to have her on my left side, and have my back because I know she's ride or die, always has my back no matter what."
Florida shot 50% from the field as a team (28-for-56) and 38.1% from distance (8-for-21). The Gators converted at the free-throw line at an 78.6% clip (22-for-28), while Mississippi State only made 60% of its free-throw attempts (15-for-25). The Bulldogs struggled to find the bottom of the basket, making just 24 of 69 shots (34.8%).
The Gators led for all but 45 seconds of the game when the score was tied.
Follow us @GatorsWire on X, formerly known as Twitter, as well as Bluesky, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.
This article originally appeared on Gators Wire: Florida basketball vs. MSU Bulldogs at SEC Women's Tournament recap
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The Gators never trailed in the victory, improving to 18-14 on the season. The 18-point margin of victory is the largest ever in SEC Tournament play for the program.
Florida will face the No. 7/8 Oklahoma Sooners in the second round of the tournament on Thursday at 1:30 p.m. ET at Ben Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, South Carolina.
"Really proud of our team's effort," head coach Kelly Rae Finley said. "Wanted to finish a little bit better down the stretch right there, but that's not to take away, start to finish, the focus and resiliency that's required to win games in the SEC.
"That's a really talented Mississippi State team that we knew was going to come out firing on all cylinders. We really set the tone with our defense, which then led to our offense, and I think (Liv McGill and Me'Arah O'Neal) led the way for us."
Liv McGill and Me'Arah O'Neal put on a show
McGill and O'Neal each scored 22 points, with O'Neal shooting 7-for-12 from the field and 4-for-6 from 3-point range and McGill posting her third 20-point-10-assist game of the year — a national high.
McGill scored in double figures for the 29th time in 30 games this season, and it's the 18th time she scored 20 or more. She moved into 20th place on the Gators' all-time scoring list with 1,280 for he career, including a team single-season record of 669 on the year.
It's O'Neal's 22nd time scoring double figures this year and her sixth time scoring 20 or more. She tied a career high with four made three-pointers.
"She has grown overall, and I said it in the beginning (of the season) before we even started playing, that she is going to be a big key to our team, a big key to our success, and she's shown that night in and night out, and I'm very proud of her, "McGill said of O'Neal. "And this is just the beginning. I'm glad to have her on my left side, and have my back because I know she's ride or die, always has my back no matter what."
Florida shot 50% from the field as a team (28-for-56) and 38.1% from distance (8-for-21). The Gators converted at the free-throw line at an 78.6% clip (22-for-28), while Mississippi State only made 60% of its free-throw attempts (15-for-25). The Bulldogs struggled to find the bottom of the basket, making just 24 of 69 shots (34.8%).
The Gators led for all but 45 seconds of the game when the score was tied.
Follow us @GatorsWire on X, formerly known as Twitter, as well as Bluesky, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.
This article originally appeared on Gators Wire: Florida basketball vs. MSU Bulldogs at SEC Women's Tournament recap
Continue reading...
