While most families have spent their Thanksgiving eating turkey and enjoying the holiday season, the Florida Gators women’s basketball team spent its Thursday on the hardwood in day one of the St. Pete Showcase.
Florida opened up its weekend with an 83-81 loss to the Tulane Green Wave. The defeat came in spite of a stellar performance from UF senior center Ra Shaya Kyle, who finished the afternoon with 25 points and nine rebounds.
Kyle shot 8-for-9 from the field and 9-for-10 from the free throw line to cap off one of the strongest performances of her UF career. Senior guard Jeriah Warren chipped in with 18 points, while sophomore guard Laila Reynolds tallied 14 points and six rebounds as well.
Thursday’s game also marked freshman wing Me’Arah O’Neal’s return to the court. O’Neal had previously gone down with an undisclosed lower body injury against Miami on Nov. 16. She finished the day with seven points and six rebounds of her own.
Florida got off to a rough start in the afternoon, trailing 21-12 at the end of the first quarter. However, the Gators started clicking defensively in the second quarter, holding Wake Forest to 3-for-18 (16.7%) from the field in the period. By the halftime break, UF held on to a 30-29 lead.
Nevertheless, the Green Wave managed to take back over in the fourth quarter, thanks in part to a strong showing from freshman guard Kendall Sneed. Sneed finished the day with 22 points, as Tulane stormed back ahead in the final period of the play to come away with a narrow victory.
Florida will remain in St. Petersburg tomorrow for day two of the St. Pete Showcase. Up next for the Gators is a matchup with James Madison University, with tip-off time set for 3 p.m. ET.
Contact Jack Meyer at jmeyer@alligator.org. Follow him on X @jackmeyerUF.
Jack Meyer is a fourth-year journalism major and the Assistant Sports Editor for The Alligator. In his free time, he enjoys reviewing music, spending time with friends, playing video games and going to the gym.
