In the opening moments of the third quarter in Sunday’s game between the Florida Gators and Longwood Lancers, the home crowd anxiously watched on as Florida’s double-digit lead started to slip away. The Lancers had managed to cut their deficit to as little as five points, and were looking for more following a timely three-pointer from senior guard Mariah Wilson.
But UF sophomore guard Laila Reynolds had other plans. Facing heavy pressure from the Longwood defensive front, Reynolds bullied her way into the paint and through multiple defenders for a physical finish at the rack. As Reynolds came tumbling down and the whistle blew on the play, the ball sailed through the net, prompting an eruption of cheers from the home crowd.
From there, Reynolds and her squad looked virtually unstoppable. The Gators broke out on a 16-2 run and cruised to the finish line with ease en route to a 93-65 victory over the Lancers. After seeing their lead cut to single digits early in the second half, Florida led by 15 or more points for the final 14:31 of Sunday’s contest.
“I thought that our bounce back and our response to that was much better than it had been earlier in the season,” UF head coach Kelly Rae Finley said. “We’re a much better basketball team now than we were a month ago, and the hope is that [it] continues on the upward trend.”
UF senior center Ra Shaya Kyle came away with her fourth consecutive double-double and her seventh overall of the season. In one of her most efficient performances to date this season, Kyle tallied 20 points on 10-of-14 shooting and 11 rebounds.
Additionally, UF freshman guard Liv McGill notched her sixth 20-plus point outing of the season. The freshman floor general finished the day with 21 points (6-of-13 from the field), five assists and five turnovers on the day.
Meanwhile, Reynolds came away with a season-high 16 points while going 7-of-10 from the field. The sophomore guard also racked up three rebounds, three assists and two steals to round out an all-around strong performance.
As soon as Sunday’s action tipped off, Reynolds came out of the gates with a quick hot hand. The sophomore guard powered Florida to an early 8-0 run to open the first quarter. Reynolds went 3-for-3 from the field in that span, eventually capping off the run with a quick steal-and-score to prompt a Longwood timeout.
After a near-three minute offensive dryspell, the Lancers eventually got on the board and put up some offensive resistance of their own. Even then, however, the Gators remained in steady control of this one, carrying a 23-12 lead into the end of the first quarter.
Florida shot 11-of-19 (57.9%) from the field in the period to keep Longwood in the rear-view through most of the game’s early-going. Additionally, 18 of UF’s 23 points in the quarter came in the paint, 10 of which came on the fast break as well.
UF kept its foot on the gas to lead off the second quarter. Florida opened the period with a 7-1 run and led by as many as 17 points midway through the period. Nevertheless, it did not take too long for Longwood to fight its way back into this one.
With less than three minutes to go in the first half, the Lancers took off on an 8-1 run of their own to narrow their deficit to single digits. Nevertheless, UF still held on to a 43-33 lead by the time both teams returned to their respective locker rooms for the halftime break.
Coming back out for the second half, Longwood kept on rolling and cut Florida’s lead to as little as five points to open the third quarter. Nevertheless, Reynolds responded with a physical and-one finish at the rack to put Florida back in control. She went on to tally eight points on 3-of-5 shooting in the third quarter, as well as two rebounds and two assists.
Reynolds’ and-one gave the Gators the spark they needed to take control of the game once more, and this time, for good. Her bucket kicked off a 16-2 Florida run that put the Gators back up by double digits. Kyle tallied four points and three rebounds in this span, while McGill came up with a fancy finish at the rim and a timely three-ball to prompt a Longwood timeout.
“Today, my focus was to crash the boards on both ends of the floor – crash it hard on both ends,” Kyle said.
UF subsequently led by as many as 25 points in the period before finishing the third quarter up 72-48. Reynolds capped off the period with a spinning no-look assist to a wide-open Ra Shaya Kyle that prompted plenty of oohs and ahhs from the Florida home crowd.
The fourth quarter proved to be more of the same for both squads, with Florida never leading by less than 19 points in the period. Senior forward Paige Clausen, who had been recognized earlier in the game for graduating from UF on Saturday, capped off Florida’s feel-good victory with her first points of the season.
Midway through the fourth quarter, Clausen knocked down a deep three-ball, which in turn prompted a raucous celebration from Florida’s bench. By the time the clock hit all zeroes on the afternoon, it was all smiles for the Gators, both on the court and in the stands.
Up next, UF will be in Charlotte for perhaps one of its toughest tests to date this season. The Gators will face off against No. 14 North Carolina in the Jumpman Invitational this Wednesday, with tip-off time set for 6:30 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.
