Wednesday, November 2
Gainesville, Fla.
7 PM
Florida Gators
vs
Saint Leo (Exh.)
Jordyn Merritt is poised for a strong junior campaign in 2022-23. (Photo by Chris Kim/UAA Communications)
Gators Set for Exhibition with Saint Leo
Tuesday, November 1, 2022 | Women's Basketball
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Fans of Florida women's basketball will get their first look at the 2022-23 Gators when Saint Leo heads to Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center this Wednesday, Nov. 2, for a 7 p.m. ET tip. Wednesday's exhibition will also feature free admission for fans.
THE SERIES
The Gators and Saint Leo meet for the first time since 1984 on Wednesday in a series that UF leads, 2-0. The last meeting occurred on Dec. 8, 1984 with Florida taking the victory, 109-47. Saint Leo is coming off of a 17-12 season in which they finished 12-8 in the Sunshine State Conference. The Lions fell to UCF in an exhibition on Sunday, 71-43.
SEC PRESEASON POLLS
After a successful 2021-22 campaign, the Gators saw their preseason standing in the conference much improved from prior years. In the SEC media poll, the Gators were tabbed to finish sixth while a vote of the league's coaches selected the Gators seventh. South Carolina was selected to win the conference in both polls
Coaches Poll: South Carolina, Tennessee, LSU, Alabama, T-Arkansas, T-Mississippi State, Florida, Ole Miss, Georgia, Kentucky, Texas A&M, Missouri, Auburn, Vanderbilt
Media Poll: South Carolina, Tennessee, LSU, Arkansas, Ole Miss, Florida, Kentucky, Mississippi State, Georgia, Alabama, Texas A&M, Missouri, Auburn, Vanderbilt
HISTORIC SEASON
The Gators are coming off of their best season since the 2015-16 campaign, ending 2022 with a 21-11 (10-3 SEC) mark that resulted in their 16th NCAA Tournament appearance and first since 2016. UF won 10 conference games for just the fourth time in program history while also defeating five ranked opponents for the first time since the 2005-06 season, with all five wins coming in the SEC (the first time since 2004). Staying in the SEC, the Orange & Blue captures six road victories for the first time since the 2001 campaign while also earning 10 non-conference wins, the most since 2016. In the polls, the Gators' success was reflected, reaching as high as No. 15 in the AP poll, the highest since the 2008-09 season.
COACHING HONROS
After officially being named the head coach of the Florida Gators on Feb. 28, 2022, Kelly Rae Finley began to earn national recognition from several organizations. She was named the Spalding Maggie Dixon Rookie Coach of the Year by the WBCA, an award that honors a WBCA member NCAA Division I head coach who has led their team to a successful season during their first year on the sideline, in addition to the SEC Coach of the Year by USA Today Sports Network. She was just the fourth SEC coach to earn the Rookie Coach of the Year, joining Kyra Elzy (Kentucky, 2021), Joni Taylor (Georgia, 2016) and Holly Warlick (Tennessee, 2013). Finley was also recognized as a semifinalist for the Naismith Coach of the Year award which goes to the top coach in the nation.
- #GoGators -
THE SERIES
The Gators and Saint Leo meet for the first time since 1984 on Wednesday in a series that UF leads, 2-0. The last meeting occurred on Dec. 8, 1984 with Florida taking the victory, 109-47. Saint Leo is coming off of a 17-12 season in which they finished 12-8 in the Sunshine State Conference. The Lions fell to UCF in an exhibition on Sunday, 71-43.
SEC PRESEASON POLLS
After a successful 2021-22 campaign, the Gators saw their preseason standing in the conference much improved from prior years. In the SEC media poll, the Gators were tabbed to finish sixth while a vote of the league's coaches selected the Gators seventh. South Carolina was selected to win the conference in both polls
Coaches Poll: South Carolina, Tennessee, LSU, Alabama, T-Arkansas, T-Mississippi State, Florida, Ole Miss, Georgia, Kentucky, Texas A&M, Missouri, Auburn, Vanderbilt
Media Poll: South Carolina, Tennessee, LSU, Arkansas, Ole Miss, Florida, Kentucky, Mississippi State, Georgia, Alabama, Texas A&M, Missouri, Auburn, Vanderbilt
HISTORIC SEASON
The Gators are coming off of their best season since the 2015-16 campaign, ending 2022 with a 21-11 (10-3 SEC) mark that resulted in their 16th NCAA Tournament appearance and first since 2016. UF won 10 conference games for just the fourth time in program history while also defeating five ranked opponents for the first time since the 2005-06 season, with all five wins coming in the SEC (the first time since 2004). Staying in the SEC, the Orange & Blue captures six road victories for the first time since the 2001 campaign while also earning 10 non-conference wins, the most since 2016. In the polls, the Gators' success was reflected, reaching as high as No. 15 in the AP poll, the highest since the 2008-09 season.
COACHING HONROS
After officially being named the head coach of the Florida Gators on Feb. 28, 2022, Kelly Rae Finley began to earn national recognition from several organizations. She was named the Spalding Maggie Dixon Rookie Coach of the Year by the WBCA, an award that honors a WBCA member NCAA Division I head coach who has led their team to a successful season during their first year on the sideline, in addition to the SEC Coach of the Year by USA Today Sports Network. She was just the fourth SEC coach to earn the Rookie Coach of the Year, joining Kyra Elzy (Kentucky, 2021), Joni Taylor (Georgia, 2016) and Holly Warlick (Tennessee, 2013). Finley was also recognized as a semifinalist for the Naismith Coach of the Year award which goes to the top coach in the nation.
- #GoGators -
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