Two teams fighting for their postseason lives, three late-game reviews and a combined nine free throws in 18 seconds. The Florida Gators’ matchup with the Texas Tech Lady Raiders in the Women’s Basketball Invitational Tournament quarterfinals had everything anyone could ever want in a basketball game.
All that, and a razor-thin finish which saw the Gators narrowly escape the Stephen C. O’Connell Center and punch their ticket to the tournament’s penultimate round. Florida (19-17, 5-11 SEC) came away with a 67-63 victory over Texas Tech (19-18, 4-11 Big 12) on Thursday to advance to the WBIT semifinals.
“It feels good to feel the fruits of our labor, in terms of poise and composure down the stretch,” UF head coach Kelly Rae Finley said. “It’s something we’ve worked on a lot, and fortunately, through the second half of the season, because we’ve so diligently worked on it, it’s gone in our favor.”
Freshman guard Liv McGill and senior center Ra Shaya Kyle provided Florida with the one-two punch it needed to stave off the upset-hungry Lady Raiders. McGill led the charge in UF’s backcourt, scoring a game-high 22 points while also tallying six assists and four steals. Meanwhile, Kyle dominated the paint all night, coming away with 21 points and 12 rebounds of her own in addition to a perfect 9 of 9 clip from the free throw line.
While the Lady Raiders proved to be a physical adversary, out-rebounding the Gators 44 to 37 on the evening, the former squad seemingly could not connect on any of their shots – both from the field and the charity stripe. Texas Tech shot 21 of 60 (35%) from the field and 12 of 25 (48%) from the free throw line. In comparison, Florida finished the day with a 23 of 56 (41%) clip on field goals and a 17 of 23 (74%) success rate at the charity stripe.
Neither squad could seemingly find a rhythm on the offensive end in the game’s early going. The two teams combined to shoot 1 of 14 in the first three minutes, with the sole make coming on a layup from McGill.
McGill eventually found her rhythm, and in turn, so did the Gators’ offense. After slicing through the Texas Tech defense for her second bucket of the night, the Florida freshman floor general found Kyle in the paint for a fast break finish to put Florida up 6-0 midway through the period.
While the Gators’ offensive woes melted away, the Lady Raiders continued to flounder through the first quarter. TTU junior guard Bailey Maupin had a chance to finally break her squad’s scoring drought as she went to the line for a pair of free throws with just over five minutes remaining in the period. Instead, she missed both, and the Lady Raiders remained scoreless for nearly another two minutes.
Texas Tech at last got on the board over seven minutes into the game via a pair of layups from sophomore guard Loghan Johnson and junior guard Jasmine Shavers. Florida subsequently ended the quarter with an 11-6 lead, having held the Lady Raiders to 2 of 16 (13%) from the field.
The Lady Raiders initially came back out swinging to open the second quarter, narrowing their deficit to just one point on a pair of three-balls from Shavers. The Gators quickly responded to keep Texas Tech at bay in what proved to be a nonstop back-and-forth period between the two squads.
TTU took its first lead of the game with 4:25 remaining in the second quarter on a three-point shot by sophomore forward Jalynn Bristow. McGill, on the other hand, immediately responded with a flying finish to give Florida its one-point edge right back.
Things eventually started to unravel for the Gators after back-to-back baskets were negated on a pair of offensive foul calls against McGill and senior guard Kenza Salgues. UF managed to patch up most of its bleeding from there, but not before the Lady Raiders jumped out to a 31-27 going into the halftime break. Texas Tech closed out the second quarter on a 7-0 run, with the latter five points all coming on free throws.
The Lady Raiders carried their momentum into the second half, with a pair of threes from Maupin sparking an 11-4 run to give them a double-digit lead. Not to be outdone, UF responded with a 14-0 run of its own, including a pair of spinning finishes and an and-one at the rack for Kyle.
McGill punctuated the run with yet another speedy fast break finish, giving Florida its first lead since the tail end of the second quarter. Shavers subsequently tied the game back up with her third three-ball of the day, and it seemed the two teams would be going into the fourth quarter all knotted up.
UF, however, had other plans. After letting the clock run for a few seconds at the top of the key, McGill burst into the paint and drew contact from a TTU defender as she hurled a shot up and fell to the ground. The shot was good, and the fans in attendance at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center went into an immediate uproar.
The freshman missed the ensuing free throw, but UF senior guard Jeriah Warren swooped in right behind her for the offensive rebound. Warren put the ball right back up to complete Florida’s four-point possession, which in turn gave the Gators a 49-45 edge entering the final ten minutes of play.
Less than 90 seconds into the final period, McGill knocked down a timely three to extend UF’s lead to seven. On the ensuing possession, however, she picked up her fourth foul, putting her one away from the limit and having to sit the remainder of the evening. As a result, she briefly returned to the bench, leaving Florida without its leading scorer in perhaps one of the game’s most crucial stretches.
Texas Tech immediately took advantage of McGill’s foul trouble, breaking out on an 8-2 run to bring the UF lead back down to 54-53. Following a minute-and-a-half stretch with no scoring from either squad, Shavers nearly pump faked UF senior forward Alexia Dizeko out of her shoes before drilling a three to give TTU the lead back.
With just over two minutes to go, Kyle banked in a lay-up to put Florida back up by one. Neither squad led by more than a single possession in the final seven minutes of the game, setting the stage for yet another photo finish in the Gators’ WBIT run.
As the clock winded down in the final 30 seconds, McGill looked to work some of her usual late-game magic as she drove to the hoop. However, this time, her shot clanked off the rim, and sophomore guard Laila Reynolds was whistled for a loose ball foul while going for the rebound.
With UF already in the bonus, Reynolds’ foul sent Johnson back to the charity stripe. The TTU sophomore guard had gone 0-for-3 from the free throw line up to this point in the night. All she needed now, however, was one shot to tie and two to take the lead.
Johnson’s first shot was off target, prompting widespread cheers from the O’Dome crowd and a chant of “Do it again!” Sure enough, her second attempt bounced off the rim and fell harmlessly to the hardwood and into Kyle’s hands, prompting an immediate Florida timeout.
McGill and Texas Tech junior forward Kilah Freelon subsequently exchanged a pair of free throws, leaving UF’s lead at 63-62 with 17.3 seconds remaining. As the Gators looked to inbound the ball following Freelon’s trip to the line, UF junior forward Alexia Gassett got tangled up with TTU junior guard Jada Wynn, prompting a lengthy review on the floor.
Following minutes of deliberation, Florida was given two free throws and possession of the ball. After a 1-for-2 trip to the line for McGill, Kyle got involved in a scrap for the ball of her own with Freelon. In a rather unusual twist of fate, both Kyle and Freelon were whistled for fouls on the play, giving each team a chance to shoot two at the line.
Kyle stepped up for Florida and knocked down both of her attempts, while Maupin went 1-for-2 for Tech. The Lady Raiders, now trailing by three and maintaining possession following the chaos and confusion, had one final chance to even the game up. As Shavers danced along the three-point line looking to make something happen, Warren pounced on the ball and came away with it, prompting more uproarious cheers from the home crowd.
With just six seconds left on the clock, TTU immediately fouled Warren, who made one of her subsequent two free throw attempts. The Lady Raiders then heaved up one final Hail Mary three pointer as the clock aspired, but to no avail. Texas Tech’s underdog tournament run had come to an end, but Florida was still alive entering the final week of this year’s WBIT.
The Gators will now travel to Indianapolis to face the winner of Gonzaga-Minnesota in the semifinals Monday. Tip-off time at Hinkle Fieldhouse is yet to be determined, and the game will be broadcast on ESPNU.
Contact Jack Meyer at jmeyer@alligator.org. Follow him on X @jackmeyersports.
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.
