Thursday, February 5
Gainesville, FL
7 p.m.
Florida Gators
vs
Auburn
Thursday Rematch with Auburn Up Next for Women's Basketball
Wednesday, February 4, 2026 | Women's Basketball
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The Florida Women's Basketball Team returns to Gainesville this week for a pair of home games beginning with a Thursday, Feb. 5 meeting with the Auburn Tigers (13-10, 2-7). 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+.
The Gators (13-7, 1-8) recently went through what is arguably the most challenging seven-day stretch of basketball in NCAA history as they played three top-six teams in the span of a week. Three of their next four games are against teams with losing records in the SEC, and each of those contests is at home, providing Florida with an ideal opportunity to climb the league standings as tournament time approaches.
Despite the difficulty of the Gators' recent schedule, they still rank seventh in the SEC in field goal percentage against conference opponents (.435), and seventh in three-point field goal percentage (.321). Their Achilles Heel has come in the turnover department where Florida is averaging 17.7 per game, and allowing SEC opponents to score an average of 20.4 points per game off of those miscues.
Liv McGill leads a trio of double figure scorers for the Gators scoring at a 22.5 points per game clip. Me'Arah O'Neal is averaging 14.0 points and 6.8 rebounds, while Laila Reynolds chips in 12.6 points per game.
McGill now has 1,106 points in her collegiate career, and is 24th on the Gators career scoring chart, 18 points behind Bernice Mosby '05. On Monday, Feb. 2, The Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame announced that McGill is one of 10 candidates currently in the running for the Nancy Lieberman Point Guard of the Year Award. The sophomore is averaging 22.5 points, 5.9 assists and 2.82 steals per game this year, while the other nine players on the list are averaging a collective 16.1 points, 5.7 assists and 2.11 steals.
Auburn went 11-3 during non-conference play, but is 2-7 in the SEC this year with wins over the Gators and Alabama. The Tigers have dropped four straight, and are being outscored in conference games by an average of 19.7 points per contest. League opponents are making 47.6 percent of their field goal attempts against Auburn, while holding the Tigers to 35.7 percent, including 23.1 percent from three-point range.
Auburn ranks second in the SEC in steals per game, averaging 10.11 steals per contest, while guard Kaitlyn Duhon is third in the SEC and 14th in the nation in steals averaging 3.17 spg. Freshman Guard Harissoum Coulibaly is Auburn's only double-digit scorer on the season, averaging 11.0 points per game. Five other Tigers average between seven and 10 points, and Auburn's roster goes 10 deep with 10 of 12 players averaging at least 10 minutes per game
Florida is 27-41* all-time against Auburn, including 13-13 at home. The Tigers picked up a 60-50 win against the Gators less than a month ago in Auburn. Florida was held to 38.0 percent shooting from the field, and the Tigers turned 19 Gators miscues into 25 points in the decision.
* Auburn lists the all-time series at 27-42. This includes a game played in 1973-74 before Florida's recorded history.
AUBURN (13-10, 2-7)
PROJECTED FLORIDA STARTERS
GATOR BITES
TIGERS QUICK HITS
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The Gators (13-7, 1-8) recently went through what is arguably the most challenging seven-day stretch of basketball in NCAA history as they played three top-six teams in the span of a week. Three of their next four games are against teams with losing records in the SEC, and each of those contests is at home, providing Florida with an ideal opportunity to climb the league standings as tournament time approaches.
Despite the difficulty of the Gators' recent schedule, they still rank seventh in the SEC in field goal percentage against conference opponents (.435), and seventh in three-point field goal percentage (.321). Their Achilles Heel has come in the turnover department where Florida is averaging 17.7 per game, and allowing SEC opponents to score an average of 20.4 points per game off of those miscues.
Liv McGill leads a trio of double figure scorers for the Gators scoring at a 22.5 points per game clip. Me'Arah O'Neal is averaging 14.0 points and 6.8 rebounds, while Laila Reynolds chips in 12.6 points per game.
McGill now has 1,106 points in her collegiate career, and is 24th on the Gators career scoring chart, 18 points behind Bernice Mosby '05. On Monday, Feb. 2, The Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame announced that McGill is one of 10 candidates currently in the running for the Nancy Lieberman Point Guard of the Year Award. The sophomore is averaging 22.5 points, 5.9 assists and 2.82 steals per game this year, while the other nine players on the list are averaging a collective 16.1 points, 5.7 assists and 2.11 steals.
Auburn went 11-3 during non-conference play, but is 2-7 in the SEC this year with wins over the Gators and Alabama. The Tigers have dropped four straight, and are being outscored in conference games by an average of 19.7 points per contest. League opponents are making 47.6 percent of their field goal attempts against Auburn, while holding the Tigers to 35.7 percent, including 23.1 percent from three-point range.
Auburn ranks second in the SEC in steals per game, averaging 10.11 steals per contest, while guard Kaitlyn Duhon is third in the SEC and 14th in the nation in steals averaging 3.17 spg. Freshman Guard Harissoum Coulibaly is Auburn's only double-digit scorer on the season, averaging 11.0 points per game. Five other Tigers average between seven and 10 points, and Auburn's roster goes 10 deep with 10 of 12 players averaging at least 10 minutes per game
Florida is 27-41* all-time against Auburn, including 13-13 at home. The Tigers picked up a 60-50 win against the Gators less than a month ago in Auburn. Florida was held to 38.0 percent shooting from the field, and the Tigers turned 19 Gators miscues into 25 points in the decision.
* Auburn lists the all-time series at 27-42. This includes a game played in 1973-74 before Florida's recorded history.
AUBURN (13-10, 2-7)
- Date: Thursday, Feb. 5
- Time: 7 p.m. EST
- Site: Exactech Arena at Stephen C. O'Connell Center, Gainesville, Fla.
- Listen: WRUF 98.1 FM / 850 AM
- Watch: SECN+
- Live stats: LiveStats
- Improve the Gators' record to 14-10 on the year, and 2-7 in the SEC.
- Improve Florida's record to 11-4 at home this season.
- Improve the Gators' record to 28-41 vs. Auburn.
- Potentially move the Gators past Texas A&M and Auburn into 13th place in the SEC standings
| Florida | Auburn | |
| 74.3 | PPG | 61.3 |
| 65.9 | OPP PPG | 61.1 |
| +8.4 | SCORING MARGIN | +0.2 |
| 45.1 | FG % | 40.2 |
| 39.9 | OPP FG% | 40.3 |
| 28.0 | 3 FG% | 28.9 |
| 28.5 | OPP 3 FG% | 29.4 |
| 5.3 | 3FG/G | 4.7 |
| 70.5 | FT % | 70.2 |
| 38.3 | REBOUNDS/G | 32.1 |
| 36.4 | OPP REBOUNDS/G | 36.8 |
| +1.9 | REB MARGIN | -4.7 |
| 13.5 | ASSISTS/G | 9.4 |
| 17.0 | TURNOVER/G | 16.8 |
| +0.80 | A/TO RATIO | +0.57 |
| 9.8 | STEALS/G | 11.3 |
| 4.17 | BLOCKS/G | 3.13 |
PROJECTED FLORIDA STARTERS
| No. | Ht. | Pos. | Class | Hometown/Previous School | |
| Me'Arah O'Neal | 8 | 6-4 | F | So. | Houston Texas |
| Daviane Mindoudi | 12 | 6-1 | G | So. | Bilbao, Spain |
| Laila Reynolds | 13 | 6-1 | G | Jr. | PG County, Md. |
| Caterina Piatti | 14 | 6-4 | F | Fr. | Scandiano, Italy |
| Liv McGill | 23 | 5-9 | G | So. | Minneapolis, Minn. |
GATOR BITES
- Through games of Wednesday, Feb. 4, Florida is … 12th in the SEC this season in points per game (74.3) … 13th in scoring defense (65.9) … 12th in scoring margin (+8.4) … 8th in field goal percentage (.451) … 11th in field goal percentage defense (.399) … 14th in three-point field goal percentage (.280) … 6th in three-point field goal percentage defense (.285) … 11th in free throw percentage (.705) … 9th in offensive rebound percentage (.356) … 15th in defensive rebound percentage (.658) … 12th in assists (13.5) … 9th in steals (9.83) … 10th in blocked shots (4.17).
- In SEC games, Florida is ranked 11th in scoring (68.4), tied for 12th in scoring defense (78.7), seventh in field goal percentage (.435), 12th in field goal percentage defense (.454), seventh in three-point field goal percentage (.321), and sixth in three-point field goal percentage defense (.304).
- The Gators have held 15 of 23 opponents below 70 points this season.
- Florida is tied for 45th in the nation in free throws made per game (14.5), and 41st in free throw attempts per game (20.6) through games of Monday, Feb. 2.
- Florida's NET rating, which helps determine which teams make the NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Championship, is No. 55 through games of Tuesday, Feb. 3.
- Liv McGill became the 28th player in Florida Women's Basketball history to score 1,000 points in her career when she connected on a free throw line jumper in the second quarter, Jan. 11 at Auburn. She is now in 24th place with 1,106 career points,18 points behind Bernice Mosby in 23rd with 1,124.
- Liv McGIll was named to the Nancy Lieberman Point Guard of the Year Award Mid-Season List on Feb. 2
- Liv McGill and Me'Arah O'Neal have each earned SEC Player of the Week honors this season.
- Liv McGill became the first player in Gators women's basketball history to be named a US Basketball Writers Association National Player of the Week on Tuesday, Nov. 11. She averaged 27.7 points, 6.0 rebounds, 7.3 assists, and 5.00 steals while connecting on 40.9 percent of her three-point field goal attempts in Florida's three wins. She also was named the SEC Player of the Week for her performance during that same stretch of games.
- Liv McGill was named the most outstanding player of the Grand Cayman Classic over Thanksgiving weekend when she averaged 27.0 points, 4.5 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 2.00 steals and 1.00 blocked shots.
- Liv McGill has three games this season of at least 25 points, five rebounds, five assists and five steals. The other 4,500-+ players competing in women's basketball at the Division I level have ten 25-5-5-5 games.
| No. | Ht. | Pos. | Class | Hometown / Previous Schools | |
| Ja'Mia Harris | 2 | 5-11 | G | Jr. | Dallas, Texas / Texas State |
| Harrisoum Coulibaly | 3 | 5-10 | G | Fr. | Paris, France / |
| Kaitlyn Duhon | 4 | 5-10 | G | R-Jr. | Houston, Texas / |
| Khady Leye | 6 | 6-2 | F | So. | Louga, Senegal / |
| A'riel Jackson | 7 | 5-9 | G | Sr. | Brooklyn, N.Y. / Cincinnati |
TIGERS QUICK HITS
- Members of the media and conference coaches tabbed Auburn to finish 15th in the SEC this season.
- The Tigers last made the NCAA Tournament in 2024 when the finished the season 20-12, including an 8-8 mark in conference.
- Head Coach Larry Vickers, who is in his first season with Auburn, made the NCAAs in each of his last three seasons at the helm of Norfolk State. During those three years, the Spartans went a combined 83-18 including a 30-5 campaign in 2024-25.
- Auburn averages an SEC-low 62.4 points per game on the season while connecting on 40.2 percent of its field goal attempts (14th in the league), and 28.9 percent of its three-pointers (13th). In conference play, those figures fall to 53.0 points per game (16th), 35.7 percent from the field (15th) and 23.1 percent from distance (16th).
- Defensively, the Tigers are eighth in the league in scoring defense (61.1 ppg), 12th in field goal percentage defense (.403), and ninth in three-point field goal percentage defense (.294). In SEC competition, those numbers increase to 72.7 points per game (11th), 47.6 percent field goal percentage allowed (16th), and 30.9 percent allowed from beyond the arc (7th).
- Auburn's most impressive statistical ranking is its 10.11 steals per game in SEC games which ranks second on the conference.
- Guard Kaitlyn Duhon is third in the SEC and 14th in the nation in steals averaging 3.17 spg.
- Freshman Guard Harissoum Coulibaly is Auburn's only double-digit scorer on the season, averaging 11.0 points per game. Five other Tigers average between seven and 10 points.
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Players Mentioned
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