GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Florida basketball opened up the season with a win over Florida Atlantic Monday night in Exactech Arena. The Gators defeated the Owls 82-54 with four players reaching double digits in scoring.
Jeriah Warren led on offense, securing 21 of the Gators points, followed by
Ra Shaya Kyle with 17, and freshman
Liv McGill with 14. Defensively Florida was led by
Alexia Gassett with seven rebounds to mark her career high. Gassett also hit three blocks and snagged three steals for the Gators.
IN THE FIRST:
- Senior Ra Shaya Kyle secured the first six points of the contest
- Florida hit three consecutive three pointers in a two-minute span (6:10, 5:40, 4:47)
- The Gators shot 58.8-percent from the field (10-17)
- UF went 4-of-8 from the three-point line to yield a 50-percent
- Florida out-rebounded the Owls 11 to nine
- Florida distributed nine assists in the first 10 minutes of play
IN THE SECOND:
- The Gators had a slower offensive start, only putting up seven points in the initial five minutes of play
- Freshman Liv McGill hit double digits in scoring with a combined 12 to end the first half
- Florida secured 22 points in the paint in the first half
- Florida held a field goal percentage of 56.3 going into the second half
IN THE THIRD:
- Jeriah Warren led the Gators in scoring with 10 points
- Warren shot 100 percent from the field (3-3) and the three-point line (1-1)
- Florida Atlantic ended the quarter shooting 0-of-5 from the three
- The Gators held the Owls to zero second chance points
- Florida saw its lowest field goal percentage of the game at 26.7
IN THE FOURTH:
- The Gators went 6-of-6 from the charity stripe
- Florida held the Owls to only 10 points, marking Florida Atlantic's lowest scoring period
- Eriny Kindred secured all six of her points in the fourth
- Kindred led UF on the boards with four rebounds
- The Gators snagged three steals in the fourth for a game total of eight
WORTH NOTING:
- Jeriah Warren secured her career high in scoring with 21 points
- Senior Kenza Salgues made her first start as a Florida Gator
- Salgues set her career high in rebounds with four
- Alexia Gassett hit her career high in blocks with three
- Gassett tied her career high in rebounds with seven
- Alexia Dizeko tied her career high in scoring with six points
- Florida had four players in double digits for scoring
- Florida's highest scoring period of the game was the first quarter with 26 points
- The Gators 82 points came from seven different players
- Florida's largest lead of the game was +29 in the fourth quarter (1:45)
- Kyle secured her 30th career game as a Gator in double figures for scoring
- Warren garnered her first 20+ point performance in college basketball
- The Gators had 20+ points in three of the four quarters
- Florida totaled eight steals in game one of the 2024-25 season
DID YOU KNOW:
Liv McGill opened her Gator career with 14 points. McGill had four field goals, including one three pointer, and was perfect from the free throw line (5-5).
The last freshman to open a season with double digit points was Nina Rickards with 10 points in a 72-65 win at Grambling State University on Nov. 5, 2019.
GATOR BITES:
UF coach Kelly Rae Finley on Florida's performance tonight:
"Overall I really liked our effort start to finish. Our third quarter wasn't our best quarter but we snapped back from it really well. We got a lot of people a lot of minutes, and as our experience grows, and as we keep getting people back, we're only going to keep improving. So I was pleased with the night."
Senior Ra Shaya Kyle on being back out on the court after getting injured in January of 2024:
"It felt really good. This was something I've been waiting on for a really, really, long time, so I was really excited. With the help of my teammates and coaches it just gives me the utmost confidence."
Senior Jeriah Warren on rounding out her game heading into her fourth season as a Gator:
"I'm just being more aggressive with my offense; my teammates do a great job of finding me on the three-point line and I've just been looking at my shot more."
TEAM RECORDS:
Florida: 1-0 (0-0 SEC)
Florida Atlantic: 0-1 (0-0 AAC)
GATORS IN OPENERS
- Florida is now 32-19 all-time in season openers. In home openers, the Gators are now 40-11
- Since 2000, UF is 20-5 in season openers
- Florida has won each of its last six (since 2019) season openers
SERIES RECORD:
Florida leads Florida Atlantic 8-1 in the all-time series
NEXT UP:
The Gators will continue action at home on Thursday at 5 p.m. against Florida A&M. The Rattlers are coming off a 78-66 loss against Howard in their home opener on Monday evening.
NEXT UP: Florida A&M
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