ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Playing without point guard Liv McGill, the Florida women’s basketball team dropped its first game of the season on Sunday, falling to Navy, 69-54. Local standout Laila Reynolds scored 19 points in her homecoming effort.

Key Runs

1st Quarter (Gators 18, Midshipmen 18)

• Me'Arah O'Neal opened the game with a three-pointer, but Florida missed its next six attempts and committed two turnovers as Navy surged ahead 13-3. O’Neal broke the run with a layup at the 4:26 mark, sparking a 13-0 Gators rally. Navy’s Zoe Mesuch paced all scorers with nine points, hitting three triples without a miss.

2nd Quarter (Midshipmen 39, Gators 31)

• Navy pushed its lead to six early, but Florida answered with a 7-0 spurt to reclaim the edge at 29-28 with 4:20 left. The Midshipmen closed strong, scoring 11 of the final 13 points to take a nine-point halftime lead. Navy shot 50 percent in the quarter, including 4-of-7 from deep, while Florida managed just 4-of-12 overall and 2-of-8 from beyond the arc.

3rd Quarter (Midshipmen 53, Gators 37)

• The Midshipmen opened the second half with six straight points to extend the margin to 14 as Florida missed its first seven shots. Laila Reynolds stopped the run with a jumper, but Navy answered with an 8-0 burst to build an 18-point cushion.

4th Quarter (Midshipmen 69, Gators 54)

• Florida ramped up defensive pressure, forcing seven turnovers in the final frame. Reynolds converted a three-point play to cut the deficit to nine with 2:55 remaining, but Navy held firm to secure the win.

Key Stats

• Navy connected on 10-of-22 from long range, while Florida went 5-of-26. Prior to this game, the Gators had not allowed more than six made threes in a contest this season.
• The Midshipmen shot 47.1 percent (24-51) compared to Florida’s 28.8 percent (19-66).
• Navy held a 47-37 rebounding edge, though Florida won the offensive glass battle 17-12.
• Florida forced 22 turnovers, converting them into 14 points, while Navy scored 21 off 13 Gator miscues.
• The Gators outscored Navy 8-0 in fast break points and 19-8 off the bench.
• Florida, averaging 94.3 points per game entering the matchup, was limited to 54.

From the Gators’ Mouths

• Coach Finley on Liv McGill's status for Thursday against Florida State: "Right now, Liv is day to day. We're going to continue to evaluate her, and see where we are."
• Coach Finley on playing without Liv McGill: "I thought we were able to get into what we wanted to get into. Our outside shots weren't falling. We shot the ball really well in practice the last couple of days, including yesterday in their arena. But we weren't finishing inside today either, and when the shots aren't falling it makes it really tough on your defense. Defensively, we could have been quite a bit stronger. We missed quite a few defensive assignments. But we're young, we're learning, it's early in the season, and Navy is a incredibly difficult team to play against, especially on the road. They were picked to win their league for a reason. They are very strong. They're disciplined. And they're tough. I thought that Laila did an exceptionally good job at the point for us. She was still able to play off ball, and on ball get us into what we needed to get into. We'll look at the film. And we get back to work, we evaluate what we need to do, and what we need to improve upon."
• Coach Finley on Navy’s three-point shooting: "I thought that they hit some really tough shots. Our fade coverage wasn't optimal, maybe we needed a little earlier communication, and they hit some tough shots with a hand in the face."

Gator Bites

• Florida is now 2-1 all-time against Navy.
• Liv McGill missed the game due to injury.
• Me'Arah O'Neal scored in double figures for the fifth straight game this season (14 points).
• Laila Reynolds reached double figures for the fourth time this season and the 30th time in her career (19 points). She also logged a career-high 40 minutes and attempted 13 free throws, making nine.
• Freshman Nyadieng Yiech scored in double figures for the third time in her career (12 points).
• Florida trailed at halftime for the first time this season, 39-31.

Next Opponent

                  Florida will be back on its home court Thursday, Nov. 20, when the Gators host Florida State (3-1 entering Sunday’s action). The matchup is scheduled for a 6:30 p.m. EST tip-off at Exactech Arena inside the Stephen C. O’Connell Center.