Reynolds’ Career-high Tying 21 Points Not Enough as Gators Fall 74-66 to Texas A&M

Thursday, January 8

Gainesville, FL

7 p.m.

Florida Gators

12-6,0-3SEC

Texas A&M

8-4,1-2SEC

Texas A&M

Florida

Reynolds’ Career-high Tying 21 Points Not Enough as Gators Fall 74-66 to Texas A&M

Thursday, January 8, 2026 | Women's Basketball

Box Score Final Game Book Photo Gallery

By: John Maxwell

GAINESVILLE, Fla. —Laila Reynolds tied her career high with 21 points Thursday evening, but the Florida Women's Basketball Team suffered through one of their more difficult shooting nights of the season as the Aggies upended Florida 74-66. Reynolds went 7 for 10 from the floor, but the Gators as a team made just 35.6 of their field goal attempts (21 of 59). The loss dropped the Gators to 12-6 overall and 0-3 in the SEC, while Texas A&M improved to 8-4 and 1-2.

KEY RUNS
1st Quarter (Aggies 26, Gators 16)

The Aggies scored the first four points, and nine of the first 13, to go up five early. With Texas A&M leading 18-12 with 2:46 to go, Me'Arah O'Neal went down with an injury, and was taken to the locker room, but she returned in the second quarter. Alexia Dizeko was fouled on the play, and hit a pair of free throws to cut the lead to four, 18-14. The Aggies scored the next eight points before Florida closed out the scoring with another pair of Dizeko freebies. Texas A&M made 11 of 17 shots in the first, while the Gators were three for 13. Florida went 9 for 10 from the charity stripe, while Texas A&M made four of five. The Aggies outrebounded the Gators 13-5. Texas A&M's Fatmata Janneh led all scorers with nine points in the period, while Laila Reynolds scored eight to pace the Gators.

2nd Quarter (Aggies 39, Gators 29)

Texas A&M's lead vacillated between seven and 12 points throughout the second. The Aggies went three for 10 from the field, while Florida made five of 14 shots. Liv McGill recorded seven points to lead all scorers.

3rd Quarter (Aggies 56, Gators 47)

Florida got as close as four midway through the third, but the Aggies scored six of the final seven points of the quarter. McGill and Janneh led all scorers with seven apiece. The Gators found their shot in the period making seven of 15 from the field, including three of seven from distance.

4th Quarter (Aggies 74, Gators 66)

It was still a 10-point Aggies lead with 1:21 remaining when the Gators put together one last comeback attempt, cutting the A&M advantage to six with 1:00 remaining, to five with :39 to go, and four with 12 second left on the clock. The Aggies made their final seven free throws to seal the victory. Ny'Ceara Pryor scored eight points to lead Texas A&M in the fourth, while Me'Arah O'Neal scored nine for the Gators.

KEY STATS

The Aggies made 43.9% of their field goal attempts (25-57), while the Gators made 35.6% of theirs (21-59).
The Aggies outrebounded Florida 43-36.
Florida went 17 for 22 from the free throw line, while Texas A&M made 20 of 28 from the charity stripe.
The Aggies outscored the Gators 38-26 in the paint.
The Aggies committed 19 turnovers which the Gators flipped into 10 points, while Texas A&M forced Florida into 17 miscues which the Aggies turned into 17 points.
Texas A&M's bench outscored the Gators bench 16-5.

FROM THE GATORS' MOUTHS

Coach Finley opening statement…
- "Texas A&M is a good basketball team, that's what you're going to get every night in the SEC. I respect Joanie a lot and her staff they do a nice job. We need to start better, I think we know that. We were even or one off the last three quarters, but the deficit in the first quarter was just too much to overcome. I believe in this team, I believe in our players, I believe in what we're doing and what we're building and where we're going. It's got to come together and we take ownership of that. The expectation at Florida is to win games. I understand that as a coach and as a leader and our team understands that as well. We don't make excuses for our age or our experience. Laila is the leader of our team, I'm proud of her, I stand by her, I've got her back and she's everything that it means to be a Gator. Gator Nation should be proud of our student athletes, and I would just say continue to root this team on, continue to show up for us, show out. We're building something special and we need your support."
Coach Finley on Laila Reynold's performance throughout the game…
- "Laila earns it, she earns it every day. Laila's going to be a big time pro for a reason because she's got all the tools and she's got the mentality, she's got the mindset. If I was a GM I would bet my money on her because she's going to elevate, she's going to stay low, she's going to stay true and she's going to stick with what she started. She's going to build something great and she's not scared, she won't shy away from that. A lot of people these days are too scared about that, they just are, that's not Laila Reynolds. It's not how she was raised, it's not what she's about. She was in here for about an hour or more yesterday, just her and the rim and earning what she got today. So, she was prepared and preparation is not by accident, it's time spent and work put in."

Post Game Press Conference: Head Coach Kelly Rae Finley and Laila Reynolds

GATOR BITES

The Gators are now 6-12 all-time against Texas A&M, and had their five-game winning streak against the Aggies snapped.
Liv McGill scored in double figures for the 19th straight game (16 points).
Liv McGill's 16 points pushed her within six of reaching the 1,000 career point mark. She will become the second sophomore in program history to reach that grand plateau (Tammy Jackson '85), and will be the third fastest in program history to reach that mark doing so in 54 games should she reach it Sunday in Auburn (51, Tammy Jackson '85; 53, Quientella Bonner '81).
Texas A&M's 26 points in the first period were the most in any quarter by a Gators' opponent this season.
The Gators are 12-0 when leading at the half and 0-6 when tied or trailing

NEXT OPPONENT
The Gators Travel to Auburn, Alabama this Sunday, Jan. 11 for a 3 p.m. EST tip against the Tigers. The game is being broadcast on SECN+.

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