BLACKSBURG, Va. — The Florida Women's Basketball Team remains on the road this week as the Gators travel to Virginia Tech, Thursday, for a 5 p.m. EST tip as part of the SEC/ACC Challenge. A Florida victory would be its ninth of the year, and tie the program record for most wins at the start of a season through 10 games.
Liv McGill is coming off a weekend performance at the Grand Cayman Classic that led to her being named the tournament's most outstanding player. In wins over Memphis (74-60) and Georgia Tech (65-56), the preseason All-SEC selection averaged 27.0 points, 4.5 rebounds, 4,0 assists, 2.00 steals and 1.00 blocked shots.
Through games of Sunday, Nov. 30, McGill is third in the nation in scoring average (26.3 ppg), tied for 21st in assists (6.0 apg), and tied for eighth in steals (4.00 spg).
Teammate Me'Arah O'Neal has four double-doubles on the season, and brings per game averages of 15.8 points, 8.4 rebounds, and 1.67 blocks into the week. Laila Reynolds is Florida's other double-figure scorer as she averages 14.2 points per game.
The Hokies (6-2) opened the season with five straight wins before falling 65-56 at James Madison and 64-60 against BYU. They snapped that short losing streak on Saturday, Nov. 29, with a 78-67 victory over Oregon State.
Virginia Tech features a balanced scoring approach, with six players averaging between eight and 16 points. Redshirt junior guard Carleigh Wenzel leads the way at 15.9 points per game. Senior forward Kilah Freelon is contributing 10.9 points and 10.1 rebounds, making her one of just 25 players nationally averaging a double-double this season. Freelon is also shooting 50.9 percent from the field in 2025-26, second only to graduate student guard Mel Daley, who is hitting at a 56.3 percent clip.
The Gators hold a 3-1 all-time record against Virginia Tech, though the teams haven’t met since Dec. 1, 2014, when Florida earned a 73-44 win. In that game, Cassie Peoples scored a team-high 19 points, while Kayla Lewis added 15. The Florida defense limited Virginia Tech to 31.3 percent shooting overall, including just 1-for-18 from beyond the arc.
Florida remains unbeaten in the ACC-SEC Challenge, having defeated Clemson 77-64 last season and Georgia Tech 68-58 during the 2023-24 campaign.
Georgia Tech (6-2)
- Date: Thursday, December 4
- Time: 5 p.m. EST
- Site: Cassell Coliseum
- Listen: wruf.com/listen-live/
- Watch: ESPN2
- Live stats: FloridaGators.com
A FLORIDA WIN WOULD …
- Improve the Gators record to 9-1 on the year, tying the program record for most wins to start a season through 10 games.
- Improve Florida's record against Virginia Tech to 4-1.
- Improve Florida's record in the ACC-SEC Challenge to 3-0.
TALE OF THE TAPE
| Florida | Virginia Tech | |
|---|---|---|
| 79.8 | PPG | 76 |
| 56.9 | OPP PPG | 55.6 |
| 22.9 | SCORING MARGIN | 20.4 |
| 45.4 | FG % | 40.9 |
| 36 | OPP FG% | 37.6 |
| 25.6 | 3 FG% | 27.1 |
| 26.6 | OPP 3 FG% | 30.1 |
| 4.7 | 3FG/G | 5.4 |
| 71.4 | FT % | 75.3 |
| 42.1 | REBOUNDS/G | 41.6 |
| 35.8 | OPP REBOUNDS/G | 32.9 |
| 6.3 | REB MARGIN | 8.7 |
| 13.3 | ASSISTS/G | 16.6 |
| 14.9 | TURNOVER/G | 14.1 |
| 0.9 | A/TO RATIO | 1.17 |
| 11.1 | STEALS/G | 10.1 |
| 4.44 | BLOCKS/G | 4.86 |
PROJECTED FLORIDA STARTERS
| No. | Ht. | Pos. | Class | Hometown/Previous School | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Me'Arah O'Neal | 8 | 6-4 | F | So | Houston Texas |
| Alexia Dizeko | 9 | 5-11 | G | Gr. | Sion, Switzerland |
| 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 played Monday, Dec. 1, Florida ranks tied for 11th in the SEC in points per game (79.8), 11th in scoring defense (56.9), 10th in scoring margin (+22.9), and 12th in field goal percentage (.454). The Gators sit ninth in field goal percentage defense (.360), sixth in three-point field goal percentage defense (.266), eighth in steals (11.1), and sixth in turnover margin (+6.78).
- Liv McGill just missed out on her second career triple-double with a 26-point, 9-rebound, 9-assist effort vs. North Florida on Nov. 3. She came up two rebounds shy in the Gators following game against Chattanooga on Nov. 6 with 38 points, 10 assists and 8 rebounds.
- 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.
- Since the 1999-2000 season, only two players in the SEC have recorded three or more games of at least 25 points, five rebounds, five assists and five steals—Liv McGill (three in the first six games this season) and Ole Miss' Armintie Price (four)
- Me'Arah O'Neal has four double-doubles this season after recording one in her freshman campaign.
PROJECTED VIRGINIA TECH STARTERS
| No. | Ht. | Pos. | Class | Hometown / Previous Schools | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kilah Freelon | 0 | 6-1 | F | Sr. | Denver, Colo. / Texas Tech |
| Carleigh Wenzel | 1 | 6-0 | G | RS-Jt. | San Antonio Texas |
| Nelson Mackenzie | 3 | 5-8 | G | RS-So.. | Greenwich, Conn. |
| Carys Baker | 10 | 6-2 | F | Jr. | West Hartford, Conn. |
| Mel Daley | 21 | 5-11 | G | Gr. | Hastings, N.Y. / Northwestern |
HOKIES QUICK HITS
- Virginia Tech reached the NCAA Tournament in four consecutive seasons from 2020-2024, highlighted by a run to the semifinals in 2022-23 before falling to LSU. Last year, the Hokies finished 19-9 overall, but just 9-9 in conference play, missing out on the NCAAs.
- This season, Virginia Tech is undefeated at home (5-0) and has compiled a dominant 61-10 record in Blacksburg since the start of the 2021-22 campaign.
- Through games of Monday, Dec. 1, Kilah Frelon ranks tied for 16th nationally in offensive rebounds per game (4.1) and tied for 28th in rebounds per game (10.1).
- Meanwhile, Mackenzie Nelson stands tied for 13th in the nation in assists per game (6.4) and 11th in assist-to-turnover ratio (3.64).
