After an impressive performance on both ends of the hardwood against Missouri on Sunday, Florida was handed its seventh consecutive loss to Ole Miss.
The Florida Gators (11-8, 2-3 SEC) suffered their largest defeat of the young season 94-69 to the Ole Miss Rebels (12-5, 3-2 SEC) in Oxford, Mississippi, on Thursday night.
Senior center Ra Shaya Kyle put Florida on the board first. However, UF quickly lost the lead as Mississippi freshman guard Sira Thienou scored eight points before the first media timeout to put the Rebels ahead.
The two-time SEC Freshman of the Week was the biggest threat to the Gators throughout the entire game, finishing with a career-high 29 points and 5-of-6 from the 3-point line.
UM graduate student forward Starr Jacobs and senior guard Kennedy Todd-Williams could not be contained as well as they both reached double-figures in scoring. Jacobs was second with 19 points on 8-of-11 shooting. Williams, who is sixth in the SEC for free-throws made, was 6-for-6 on free throws, contributing to her 12 points.
Meanwhile, senior guard Jeriah Warren led Florida in scoring with 19 points on 5-of-8 shooting and 4-for-4 in 3-pointers. She played a key role in Florida shooting a season-high 54% from three, compared to Ole Miss’ 41%.
Kyle also tried to keep her team afloat with 14 points on 6-for-8 shooting and six rebounds. However, the Rebels prevented the third-ranked player in the SEC in double-doubles from notching her eleventh this season.
Florida’s problems did not lie in its shooting as the Gators only trailed behind with 50% from the field compared to Ole Miss’ 53%.
Instead, Ole Miss forced 29 Florida turnovers, scoring 42 points as a result.
Moreover, Ole Miss showed why it's fourth in the league in steals by securing 19, surpassing its average of 12.1 per game.
The Gators also fell short in the paint with only 26 points down low, deviating from their average of 40.
UF freshman guard Liv McGill, who secured her first triple-double in Sunday’s game, scored 11 points. However, she only shot 33% en route to her low double-digits performance.
At the media timeout in the second quarter, Thienou had single handedly outscored the Gators as she racked 14 points, compared to Florida’s eight total.
A 7-0 run charged by Warren and UF senior guard Kenza Salgues helped reduce the Rebels’ lead to 10 heading into halftime.
Salgues was the only Gator to hit a 3-pointer in the first half, adding two, which is a fallback compared to Florida’s season-high of 12 3-pointers in its last outing. Florida ended the first half down 42-33.
The game began to slip further away from Florida’s hands as Ole Miss had its biggest lead in the third quarter, scoring 31 in the first 10 minutes out of halftime.
UM graduate guard KK Deans, a former Gator herself, racked her first points off a 3-pointer in the third quarter. The previous scorer for Florida contributed to the Rebels’ 14-1 run with a 5-0 run of her own.
Florida was able to secure its highest-scoring quarter in the fourth with 19 points, trailing behind the Rebels’ 21. Warren was the biggest contributor with nine points and two 3-pointers.
Even with this last-minute effort, the game was too far out of reach for Florida to have any hope of victory.
UF returns home to play its third SEC match at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center against No. 5 LSU (19-0, 4-0 SEC) on Sunday at 1 p.m.
Contact Amanda Roman at aroman@alligator.org. Follow her on X @mandy_romannn
Amanda Roman is a sophomore sports journalism major and the Spring 2025 women's basketball reporter. This is her second semester at the sports desk for The Alligator, and she previously interned for Fort Lauderdale United FC. In her free time, she enjoys lifting, shopping and reading.
