Florida Gators
18-15,5-11SEC
Oklahoma
24-6,11-5SEC
Florida’s SEC Tournament Run Ends in 82-64 Loss to No. 7/8 Oklahoma
Thursday, March 5, 2026 | Women's Basketball
KEY RUNS
1st Quarter (Gators 22, Sooners 22)
- Oklahoma scored seven straight early to open up a 12-5 lead with 6:35 remaining. Me'Arah O'Neal ended the run when she drained her second three-pointer of the day with 5:36 on the clock. That kick-started a string of 11 consecutive points for the Gators and forced the Sooners to call time out, trailing 16-12. Oklahoma's Raegan Beers led all scorers with nine points, making all four of her attempts from the floor. Liv McGill went six for seven from the free throw line, and led the Gators with eight points.
- The Sooners scored the first four points of the second quarter to give them an 8-0 wrap-around run and regain the lead, 26-22. That lead ping-ponged between one and four points for the next five-plus minutes, but the Sooners scored five straight to go up eight, 38-30, with 2:18 left before intermission. Florida dropped in the last four points of the second to slice the halftime advantage to two. The Gators held Oklahoma to two of 13 shooting from distance in the first two quarters, and outrebounded the nation's fourth most proficient rebounding team, 22-21. Liv McGill finished the half with 19 points to lead all scorers. Aaliyah Chavez led Oklahoma with 13
- Oklahoma scored the first 10 points of the third to go up 12, 50-38, with 7:53 left in the period. Florida missed four straight shots during that stretch while the Sooners made five of six from the field. KN'isha Godfrey's fast-break layup ended the run, but Oklahoma scored another four straight points to lead by 14, 54-40. During that stretch, Liv McGill was whistled for a blocking foul, and exited the game with 5:31 on the clock to be looked at by team athletic trainer Tariq Kelly. She returned with 3:31 to go in the third, and Florida trailing 58-42. Oklahoma went 10 for 21 from the field in the period, while the Gators made three of 14.
- Florida played Oklahoma even in the fourth, but wasn't able to get any closer than 18 the rest of the way.
- The Sooners outscored Florida 27-7 in the third quarter.
- Oklahoma connected on 43.1 percent of its field goal attempts (31 for 72), while the Gators made 35.6% of theirs (21 of 59).
- The Sooners outscored Florida 48-32 in the paint.
- Oklahoma outrebounded the Gators 47-39 including 17-10 on the offensive end which led to a 13-7 advantage in second chance points.
- Florida committed 24 turnovers which the Sooners flipped into 23 points while Oklahoma was credited with 19 miscues which the Gators turned into 15 points.
- Coach Finley opening statement …
"Obviously not the result that we had wanted, that I felt like we had worked for all season. That's a very good Oklahoma basketball team. There is a reason they are ranked seventh in the country. And there is a reason that this is the best women's basketball league in the country. How we finished this season has been quite strong — three quad one and two wins, 5-4 in the last nine [games] with the four losses coming to [top 25] opponents. But that's why you come to this league to play. I'm extremely proud of our team, the growth that we've had over the course of the season, and I'm excited to see what's next for us. "
- Liv McGill on the growth of the team from October to March …
"I am extremely proud of our growth from start to finish. We had a lot of downs, but we also had a lot of ups, and I'm just very proud to watch each and every one of my teammates grow. I'm just extremely happy. Everybody poured in. Our coaching staff poured in. Everybody was dedicated. Everybody sacrificed. And that's what it takes to be a connected team, to have each others backs, to play for each other. And even though we fell short tonight, that's what we did. I know when I look to my right and my left, like I said yesterday, I know my teammates have my back, and I still feel the same way, no matter win, lose or draw."
- Liv McGill on consistently rising to the challenge against top competition ...
"Honestly, I just try to focus on the game plan, whatever the game needs. Coach Kelly is really good at helping me prepare with whatever reads they're going to throw at me, with whatever their weaknesses are, how we're going to take advantage of them and I just trust my work. I put in the work, and my coaches and my teammates believe in me. So when I step on the court, whether we play a top team or we play a low team, I just trust my work."
- Coach Finley on what she is most proud of from her team this year
GATOR BITES"Stephanie, I really appreciate that question. As a woman who leads young women, I think its really important that we acknowledge that we are all competitors, but there is a human component to everything that we do. And the human component shines with pride when you're mentoring, coaching, challenging and uplifting 18 to 23-year-old young adults. So what I can tell you about this team is ... man ... they prepare like the best of them. We're the youngest team in the conference, and we showed up every single night to compete, and I would expect nothing else. They never ask for handouts. They never want any excuses. My group is gritty. They are tough. They're built from the right things. I've had a lot of questions about Liv's growth, about Me'Arah's growth, Laila's growth, "Nidi's" growth, Cat's growth. I could go on and on and on, but the truth of our program is this — we develop our players. We pour into them. We love them, and when you love then, you challenge them. We show up for them every day, and analytically, they just improve. And as they improve, our team and our program will continue to rise. We're as good as we've been on both sides of the ball in the last eight years. Our last month of play ... I don't know if you guys look at Bart Torvik or any of those analytical stat things, but we're top 30 in offense and defense. And for such a young group, that's a huge feat, because we weren't there at the beginning of the year. We struggled with some injuries, we struggled with some nagging things, but we had to learn what it takes, and over the course of the season we've been able to do that. And if given the opportunity for whatever is next, man, they're going to shine."
- Florida is 5-4 over its last nine games with a win over No. 19/20 Ole Miss during that stretch. All four losses have come against top-25 competition, including two against top-10 teams.
- The Gators are now 1-4 all-time against Oklahoma, and have lost four straight to the Sooners
- Liv McGill scored in double figures for the 30th time in 31 games this season (28 points), and 20 or more points for the 19th time this year.
- Liv McGill's 28 points in the game give her 1,308 for her career. She moved into 20th place on the program's career scoring chart in the regular season finale against Georgia.
- Liv McGill's 28 points give her 697 on the season, and extend her own program single-season scoring record.
- Liv McGill tied her career high with 13 made free throws.
- Me'Arah O'Neal scored in double figures for the 23rd time this season (10 points).
FOLLOW THE GATORS
SOCIAL: X | Facebook | Instagram
JOIN THE CONVERSATION: #GoGators
