Florida Gators
3-1,0-0SEC
South Florida
3-1,0-0American
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Fla. | 17 | 18 | 27 | 10 | 72 |
| Florida | 15 | 14 | 17 | 24 | 70 |
Thursday, November 12, 2026 | Women's Basketball
Florida had two shots to take the lead, and another to tie with three seconds remaining, but none of the attempts found the bottom of the net, and the Bulls escaped with a 72-70 victory. It was the first loss of the season for the Gators who fell to 3-1, while South Florida improved to 3-1.
Through the first three quarters, Florida struggled to find an answer to the Bulls' efforts in the post, as South Florida outscored the Gators 42-18 in the paint and owned a 33-17 rebound advantage.
Stefanie Ingram scored 23 points for South Florida through three quarters en route to a 25-point, 10-rebound double-double. The third quarter appeared to seal the Gators' fate as the Bulls outscored Florida 27-17 while connecting on 71.4 percent of their field goal attempts, however, Florida managed to flip the script over the final 10 minutes of play.
During the first nine minutes of the fourth quarter, it was the Gators who dominated virtually every aspect of the game — points in the paint (20-4), second chance points (7-0), fast break points (6-0), points off turnovers (4-0) — outscoring the Bulls 24-8.
Vivian Iwuchukwu's old-fashioned 3-point play put the capper on a 9-0 Florida run to knot things up at 70. The Gators forced a miss on the Bulls' next possession, but couldn't convert on the other end as Kiyomi McMiller and Iwuchukwu both had opportunities in the paint to give Florida the lead.
With 24 seconds left on the clock, a Kate Novik layup put the Bulls up 72-70, despite the fact that she had missed six of her previous eight shots on the night. South Florida had two fouls to give, and used them to reduce the time the Gators had to work with to just nine seconds. McMiller drove the lane on the final play of the evening, but her layup in traffic came up just short.
Iwuchukwu scored seven of her 14 points in the fourth, while Jade Weathersby added five of her team-high 15. In addition to her 14 points, Iwuchukwu pulled down a career-high 10 rebounds to record the first double-double of her career. Weathersby added seven boards and three blocks off the bench, and Aurora Almón was a perfect 3 of 3 from the field in just 10 minutes of action.
McMiller added 14 for the Gators and Moriah Murray scored a season-high 10 points, while connecting on a pair of 3-pointers for the third consecutive game.
Florida will take a trip up the road to play Florida State Sunday, Nov. 15 at 2 p.m. ET on ACC Network Extra.
KEY STATS
- South Florida used a 27-17 third quarter to open up a 16-point lead, connecting on 10 of 14 shots from the field (.714).
- The Bulls outscored the Gators 48-38 in points in the paint.
- South Florida outrebounded the Gators 41-31.
- South Florida went just 9 for 18 from the free-throw line, while Florida made 9 of 12.
- The Gators outscored the Bulls 24-10 in the fourth quarter
- Florida made 16 of 30 shots from the field (.533) in the second half after going 11 for 31 in the first half (.355).
GATOR BITES
- Jade Weathersby led the Gators in scoring for the first time this season (15 points)
- Vivian Iwuchukwu pulled down a career-high ten rebounds and added 14 points to record her first career double-double
- Moriah Murray notched her first double-digit scoring game of the season with 10 points, hitting at least two threes for the third straight game
- Kiyomi McMiller scored in double figures for the fourth straight game.
Head Coach Tammi Reiss
Opening Statement...
"First and foremost, I want to give credit to South Florida and Kristy [Curry's] team. I thought for three quarters they came in here and they just played tougher and harder than us — they really did. In all the toughness plays you can see it. So, offensive rebounding, you can see it. Free throw line. Hunting that paint. You can see it. How many paint points they had. You can see it.
So really this game came down to, and it's no surprise — we said it in our preparation — the tougher team is going to win. And today, South Florida definitely was the tougher team, so much credit to them.
I do want to credit my team for really, really bearing down and making a furious comeback in that fourth quarter, but again much like Chattanooga you can't wait until the final 10 to decide you are going to execute a game plan. We've got a lot to clean up. We really do. Over the course of the next two days to get ready for Florida State — another in-state rival. So again, I'm pleased with the fourth quarter, but I'm really, really upset with our execution defensively and offensively for the first three."
On junior forward Jade Weathersby...
"I think Jade gave us that toughness off the bench and really, you know — She's a great rebounder, Executes. Plays hard. Runs the floor. Gets out in transition. Everything we needed in that fourth quarter, I thought Jade provided."
On junior forward Vivian Iwuchukwu...
"Vivian is just that steady. There are people you trust to do their job on the team. And Vivian is one of them, She practices that way. Everything Viv does in games, she does in practice. That's something I appreciate to no end is how she operates. Her habits are that of a champion, and that's how she operates. She is able to be successful in games because that's how she practices. Just reliable and dependable, and there is nothing better than having a player like that."
Junior Forward Jade Weathersby
On her performance tonight...
"I do what I can to rebound. I know me and coach have had conversations about doing the little things. I know I'm one of the strongest rebounders on the team, so making that my priority every game, and then just continuing to get better defensively. I know I want to continue to just keep giving the team what we need. and continuing to do the little things that lead us to wins."
Junior Forward Vivian Iwuchukwu
On her success this season...
"It does start in practice. And just coming in with the same mentality every single day in practice, and not really changing it for the games and not expecting to switch it on. I think that's what helps me to get better — when I'm intentional in practice for however many hours we're in there. I think that's what helps me translate and convert in games."
Post Game Press Conference: Head Coach Tammi Reiss, Vivian Iwuchukwu and Jade Weathersby
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