Thursday afternoon proved to be a busy afternoon in the Stephen C. O’Connell Center. Before Florida’s men’s basketball team took to the floor at 8 p.m. for its home opener against Jacksonville, UF’s women’s squad kicked things off with an all-around fiery performance against the FAMU Rattlers.
The Gators came away with a flashy 102-67 win on Thursday, thanks in part to the performance of freshman guard Liv McGill. The former five-star recruit and current Florida floor general finished the night with 21 points (including 17 in the first half), six assists and two steals.
Senior center Ra Shaya Kyle secured her first double-double of the season, tallying 19 points and 12 rebounds on the evening. Meanwhile, senior guard Jeriah Warren chipped in with 13 points, four rebounds and two assists of her own.
Rounding out Florida’s standouts, junior forward Alexia Gassett proved to be a force on both ends of the floor, racking up 11 points, eight rebounds and four steals.
Kyle picked up right where she left off from Monday’s home opener, tallying eight points and four rebounds in the first quarter alone. Warren, however, took some time to warm up, shooting just 1-for-5 in the game’s opening period.
In spite of the latter’s cold start, Florida still held on to a 23-17 lead by the end of the first quarter. Senior guard Kenza Salgues buried a pair of three-pointers in the period to help keep the Gators in front following the first ten minutes of action.
From there, Warren found her footing once more, scoring 7 points on 3-of-4 shooting in the second quarter. Florida shot 9-for-13 (69.2%) from the field as a whole in the period, while FAMU was held to just 5-for-16 (31.3%).
The Gators proceeded to take off on a 15-0 run to all but leave the Rattlers in the dust going into the halftime break. By the end of the first half, Florida had already jumped out to a 47-28 lead.
Taking back to the hardwood in the third quarter, McGill and senior forward Alexia Dizeko jumped in on the fun offensively. The freshman floor general tallied seven points, two assists and one steal in the period, while Dizeko drained a pair of threes and two free-throws for eight points of her own.
Salgues finished off the quarter in style to extend Florida’s lead to 28 points. By the end of the third period, the Gators led the Rattlers 74-46.
When the fourth quarter rolled around, Florida had already all but sealed its victory. Despite Kyle fouling out midway through the period, McGill stayed hot with a 10-point quarter to keep the Gators in front for good.
Florida will return to the O’Dome next week on Nov. 12 to play host to the Chicago State Cougars. Tip-off in that contest is set for 7 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.
