On a hot summer day in Gainesville, the Florida Gators women’s basketball team stayed busy all afternoon. Following a batch of conditioning drills across the street, the Gators made their way onto the Terry Frost Practice Court, where head coach Kelly Rae Finley greeted them on the baseline.
Right before the squad hit the hardwood for its next round of drills, Finley posed a simple, yet pressing question for her players: “Where do we want to be come March?”
The squad answered unanimously: the NCAA Tournament.
Following a bittersweet 2023-24 campaign, the Florida Gators women’s basketball team is ready to put itself back on the map and make some noise this coming season.
Last year, Florida finished 11th in the Southeastern Conference with a 16-16 overall record and a 5-11 record in conference play. The Gators garnered some late season momentum to make a brief push in the 2024 SEC Tournament. They eventually fell at the hands of the Ole Miss Rebels 84-74 on March 8 to conclude their conference slate in the tournament quarterfinals.
As the Gators return to the practice facility, the squad features some fresh faces who look to make an instant impact this fall.
Following their respective commitments to Florida, freshmen Liv McGill and Me’Arah O’Neal earned nationwide recognition. From a pair of McDonald’s All American nods to invitations to play in the Jordan Brand Classic Games, the duo has already made a splash in the practice facility since arriving at UF.
While fitting in with a new squad can be daunting at first, this year’s Gators squad found its rhythm quickly. Playing alongside sophomore wing and fellow underclassmen Laila Reynolds, McGill and O’Neal gelled with their new team well.
“The vibes have been good on campus,” Reynolds said. “Everybody is just ready to get along with each other, learn [from] one another and play some good basketball.”
Reynolds is slated to play an integral role in Florida’s rotation this year.
The former five-star recruit started in 31 of UF’s 32 games last season, averaging 7.2 points and 3.7 rebounds per game. She is expected to make a sizable leap in her second year wearing the orange and blue.
Alongside Reynolds, seniors Aliyah Matharu and Ra Shaya Kyle are set to lead Florida’s returnees into the 2024-25 season.
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Kyle, who only appeared in 14 games through an injury-riddled campaign, chipped in with 12.4 points per game. She led her squad in rebounds and blocks per contest.
Matharu also established herself as a dominant presence on both ends of the court. The Florida floor general led the team with 19 points and 2.7 steals per game throughout the season.
She sparked Florida’s run through the 2024 SEC Tournament, scoring a career-high 35 points to upset the Vanderbilt Commodores 62-59 in a hotly contested second round matchup March 7.
Rounding out Florida’s expected starting lineup, rising senior Jeriah Warren plans to take on an increased leadership role this offseason. She is known as one of the team’s strongest defenders, averaging 1.8 steals per game last year.
“It’s been very competitive,” Warren said. “You can tell we’re all working towards the same goal. High energy, we’ve gone hard every day to make sure we get the result that we want.”
However, the team’s depth did suffer this past offseason. Florida lost numerous key pieces to graduation and the transfer portal.
Graduates Zippy Broughton, Faith Dut and Leilani Correa all served as major contributors to last year’s squad. Dut started in all 32 games for the Gators last season, while Broughton and Correa combined with Matharu to fuel Florida’s high-powered backcourt.
Rising junior guard Alberte Rimdal also made her exit from the Florida basketball program this offseason. After spending her first three years in Gainesville, Rimdal transferred to Nebraska last April.
Filling in Florida’s newfound gaps, Finley announced the program’s addition of Louisville transfer Alexia Gassett through the portal last May.
“I feel like we’re already mending together so well, and it’s really shocking because it’s only July,” Gassett said. “The family atmosphere [here] is just really, really close… Everybody is just very genuine.”
In the 2023-24 season, Finley prioritized setting a healthy foundation for Florida’s basketball culture.
As a new wave of young talent rolls in alongside some heavy-hitting returnees, the stage is now set for the Gators to take the next step in their evolution as a program. The competition in the SEC stands more loaded than ever before, but Finley and her squad are confident this is the year Florida will put itself back on the map.
“This team has a high ceiling, and they are working together to ensure we maximize our abilities as a team this upcoming season,” Finley said. “Youth and experience will provide a great foundation for us to propel our program forward. We look forward to seeing Gator Nation in the stands this fall.”
Contact Jack Meyer at jmeyer@alligator.org. Follow him on X @jackmeyerUF.
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Jack Meyer is a third-year journalism major and a sports reporter for The Alligator. In his free time, he enjoys running, spending time with friends, playing video games, and watching the Miami Heat and Miami Dolphins.
