With less than two minutes to go, the Florida Gators were hanging on by a thread in their SEC Tournament opener. Following a back-and-forth affair with the Auburn Tigers all evening, UF sported a four-point lead in the game’s home stretch. Florida needed one final spark – one last play – to put the game on ice.
Whenever the Gators have faced situations like these this season, a familiar face has always found a way to answer the call: freshman guard Liv McGill. Wednesday night proved to be no different, as the Florida floor general intercepted a pass and charged down the court, looking to work her usual magic.
McGill hauled up a jumper that clanked off the rim. She then skated through the Auburn defensive front, came down with her own rebound and bodied her way back to the rim. On her way up, McGill collided with a defender and appeared to injure her ankle. But that didn’t phase her, as the ball sailed through the net right as the whistle blew.
Despite being visibly shaken up following the play, McGill insisted on remaining in the game to shoot her free throw. As her teammates huddled around her and helped her to the line, McGill stepped up and knocked the shot down. She immediately returned to the bench and sat the remainder of the game, but it was no matter. The freshman guard had come through with yet another heroic play to keep Florida’s postseason alive.
“She said to the ref, right there in the end, ‘Nope, I’m okay. I just need my teammates for a second,’” UF head coach Kelly Rae Finley said. “She’s a team player, she’s a competitor, she sets the tone for us, for sure.”
The Gators went on to secure a 60-50 win over Auburn on Wednesday night, thanks in part to a staunch defensive performance. The Tigers shot 20 for 67 (29.9%) from the field, as well as 2 for 13 (15.4%) from 3-point range.
UF senior center Ra Shaya Kyle led the way with a 16-point, 11-rebound double-double, as well as a perfect 8-for-8 clip from the free throw line. McGill finished with 11 points, eight assists and two steals on the night. Following the latter’s late-game injury, Finley said that McGill’s status for Florida’s next game is yet to be determined.
Additionally, Florida senior guard Jeriah Warren chipped in with another well-rounded performance, tallying 14 points, five rebounds, two blocks and one steal on the evening. Rounding out the Gators’ standouts, sophomore guard Laila Reynolds notched 12 points and four blocks, all while holding Auburn standout and graduate forward Deyona Gaston to just 16 points on 6-for-20 shooting from the field.
“Everybody played well, but I would like to shout out Laila Reynolds,” Finley said. “Deyona is an exceptionally good basketball player, but Laila Reynolds played a heck of a defensive game tonight.”
Florida got off to a quick start, taking an early 6-2 lead on a perfect 3 for 3 from the field in the game’s first 90 seconds. From there, however, the two squads continued to battle for control, as neither led by more than five points in the opening quarter.
Auburn took a 13-12 lead on a tip-in layup by Gaston with just over three minutes remaining in the period. The Tigers proceeded to shoot 1 for 5 from the field to close out the quarter, opening the door for the Gators to briefly crawl back into the driver’s seat.
Following a timely three-pointer from Warren and a pair of free throws from Kyle, UF held on to a narrow 19-16 lead entering the second period. That gap stayed put for just over three minutes, as Florida and Auburn combined for zero points.
Senior forward Alexia Dizeko eventually broke the dry spell with a physical finish at the rack. Even then, UF couldn’t find an offensive rhythm through the rest of the half, shooting a combined 4 for 15 from the field in the second quarter.
While the Gators endured their share of struggles shooting the ball, the Tigers fared even worse. Auburn shot 4 for 16 (25.0%) from the field in the second quarter and 10 for 35 (28.6%) in the first half as a whole. Following a low-scoring period from both squads, Florida carried a 27-25 lead into the halftime break.
Although McGill finished with an unusually quiet four points in the first half, Kyle and Reynolds did their part to keep Florida afloat. The senior center tallied a team-high eight points and eight rebounds in the first half, while Reynolds scored six points on an efficient 3 for 5 from the field and came down with three of her four blocks on the night.
“My teammates trusted me enough to keep giving me the ball, and I trusted them to find me if I was getting doubled,” Kyle said. “I would just say my mindset was to keep going at them the whole time.”
Neither squad refused to let up at any point in the second half, either. Late in the third quarter, Auburn took its first lead since the 3:03 mark in the opening quarter on a layup from Gaston, but Reynolds snatched it right back less than two minutes later on a fast break.
The sophomore guard’s bucket sparked a quick 6-0 run to give Florida a 44-40 lead entering the final quarter of play. Initially, the Gators looked to be rolling coming out of the break, with a smooth finish by Kyle putting UF up by six early in the period.
But the Tigers simply refused to go away. Auburn remained within striking distance right down to the wire, at one point cutting its deficit to 50-48 with 2:33 left in the game.
Florida finally put the hammer down in the game’s final two minutes. Reynolds kickstarted a 12-2 run with a pair of free throws at the 1:53 mark. On the next play, McGill came through with her aforementioned and-one, and Auburn never managed to recover. The Gators finished the game shooting 5 of 6 from the charity stripe to keep the Tigers at bay and live to see another day themselves.
Things won’t get any easier for Florida from here. Up next is a Thursday night showdown against No. 19 Alabama in the second round of the tournament.
“We were the only team in the country that had the opportunity to finish our regular season with three top 15 teams,” Finley said. “We expect a really tough, physical battle tomorrow night.
Tipoff for Thursday’s contest is set for 8:30 p.m.
Contact Jack Meyer at jmeyer@alligator.org. Follow him on X @jackmeyerUF.
Jack Meyer is a fourth-year journalism major and the 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.
