Gators Hang Tight with No. 6 LSU, but Tigers Pull Away in Second Half for 89-60 Win

Monday, January 26

Baton Rouge, LA

7 p.m.

Florida Gators

13-9,1-6SEC

LSU

19-2,5-2SEC

Florida

LSU

Liv McGill looks inside against No. 6/6 LSU

Gators Hang Tight with No. 6 LSU, but Tigers Pull Away in Second Half for 89-60 Win

Monday, January 26, 2026 | Women's Basketball

Box Score Final Game Book

By: John Maxwell

BATON ROUGE, La. — The Florida Women's Basketball Team (13-9, 1-6) kept things tight in the first half against No. 6/6 LSU Monday evening, holding the top scoring offense in the nation to just 36 points, but the Tigers (19-2, 5-2) regrouped at the intermission and pulled away in the final two periods for the 89-60 victory.

KEY RUNS
1st Quarter (Tigers 22, Gators 19)

LSU built a pair of six-point leads in the first but Florida limited the Tigers to nine of 23 shooting in the period. Liv McGill led the Gators with eight points on four of six from the floor, while Jade Weathersby added seven off the bench. Six LSU players had either three or four points in the first.

2nd Quarter (Tigers 36, Gators 29)

Neither team found the bottom of the basket through the first 1:43 of the second, but "Nidi" Yiech's three tied the score at 22. The Gators re-took the lead, 27-26, on a Laila Reynolds jumper with 5:36 on the clock, but the Tigers scored eight straight and 10 of the last 12 to lead by seven at the break. Me'Arah O'Neal picked up her third foul of the game with just under a minute to go in the stanza. Florida's defense forced LSU to commit nine turnovers in the period, but the Gators made just four of 17 shots during that time.

3rd Quarter (Tigers 63, Gators 45)

LSU scored eight of the first 10 points out of the break to extend its lead to 13, 44-31, and maintained a double-digit lead for the remainder of the game. Jada Richard scored 12 points in the third to lead all scorers. The Tigers forced six Florida turnovers and flipped them into 11 points, while the Gators scored two points off of a pair of LSU miscues.

4th Quarter (Tigers 89, Gators 60)

MiLaysia Fulwiley scored a game-high 11 points in the quarter as LSU led by double figures for the entirety of the quarter.

KEY STATS

The Tigers made 48.4% of their field goal attempts (31 of 64), while the Gators made 36.8% of theirs (21 of 57).
LSU went 22 for 29 from the free throw line while Florida made 12 of 19.
The Tigers forced 17 Florida turnovers and flipped them into 21 points, while the Gators turned 15 LSU miscues into 10 points.
Florida made 6 of 23 (.261) from three-point range, while the Tigers went 5 for 14 (.357).
The Tigers outscored the Gators 36-22 in the paint.
LSU outrebounded Florida 48-28, including 20-10 on the offensive glass, leading to an 18-10 edge in second chance points.

GATOR BITES

The Gators are now 16-37 all-time against LSU.
Liv McGill scored in double figures for the 23rd straight game (14 points).
Liv McGill's 14 points in the game give her 1,070 for her career, moving her to within 28 points of Jana Bragg '88 in 24th place on the Gators' career scoring chart with 1,098 points.
Laila Reynolds scored in double figures for the 16th time this season (12 points).
Jade Weathersby scored in double figures for the fourth time this season (11 points).

NEXT OPPONENT
The Gators string of games against Top-10 opponents continues as they host No. 4 Texas on Thursday, Jan. 29. Tip at Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center is slated for 7 p.m. EST, and the game is being broadcast on SECN+.

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