Gainesville, Fla. — Florida and Florida State will reignite their in-state rivalry on Thursday, Nov. 20, when the Gators welcome the Seminoles for a 6:30 p.m. EST tip-off at Exactech Arena inside the Stephen C. O’Connell Center.
The rivalry dates back to the 1974-75 season, which marked Florida’s first year of competition. Since then, the two programs have squared off 78 times—more than any other non-SEC opponent in Gators history.
Florida leads the all-time series 42-36, including a 20-12 record at home. However, Florida State has claimed the last three matchups. Their most recent meeting came on Nov. 22, 2024, when the Seminoles defeated Florida 98-74 in Tallahassee. In that contest, Liv McGill scored a then career-best 28 points on 11-of-17 shooting, while RA Shaye Kyle contributed a 21-point, 11-rebound double-double. Florida State capitalized at the free throw line, converting 35 of 40 attempts.
In their latest outing, Florida was without McGill due to injury in a Nov. 16 loss at Navy, which ended the team’s four-game winning streak to start the season. Laila Reynolds stepped up with 19 points and five assists, Me'Arah O'Neal added 14 points and six rebounds, and freshman Nyadieng Yiech chipped in 12 points and five boards.
Florida State enters the matchup at 3-2 following a 76-72 setback against Indiana on Sunday. Four Seminoles average double figures, though none play more than 27 minutes per game. Junior transfer Solé Williams leads the team with 17.5 points per contest, shooting 52.2 percent from the field and 50 percent (12-of-24) from three-point range. She missed the Indiana game due to an injury sustained against Nicholls State.
Florida State (3-2)
- Date: Thursday, November 20
- Time: 6:30 p.m. EST
- Site: Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center
- Listen: FloridaGators.com
- Watch: SECN
- Live stats: FloridaGators.com
A Florida Win Would …
- Improve the Gators’ record to 5-1 overall and 20-2 at home in November during the Kelly Rae Finley era.
- Extend Florida’s series lead to 43-36 and halt a three-game losing streak to Florida State.
- Push the Gators’ non-conference home winning streak to 12 straight, the eighth-longest in program history. The last non-conference home loss came on Nov. 16, 2024, against Miami.
Tale of the Tape
| Florida | Florida St. | |
|---|---|---|
| 86.2 | PPG | 84 |
| 55.6 | OPP PPG | 70 |
| 30.6 | SCORING MARGIN | 14 |
| 48.2 | FG % | 42.5 |
| 37 | OPP FG % | 38.5 |
| 27.9 | 3 FG % | 35.3 |
| 32.6 | OPP 3 FG % | 28.2 |
| 6.2 | 3FG/G | 9.4 |
| 68.9 | FT % | 79.4 |
| 41.8 | REBOUNDS/G | 43.2 |
| 32.8 | OPP REBOUNDS/G | 38 |
| 9 | REB MARGIN | 5.2 |
| 13.8 | ASSISTS/G | 13.2 |
| 13 | TURNOVER/G | 15.2 |
| 1.06 | A/TO RATIO | 0.87 |
| 12 | STEALS/G | 7.4 |
| 3.2 | BLOCKS/G | 3.8 |
PROJECTED FLORIDA STARTERS
| No. | Ht. | Pos. | Class | Hometown/Previous School | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Me'Arah O'Neal | 8 | 4-Jun | F | So | Houston, Texas |
| Alexia Dizeko | 9 | 11-May | G | Gr. | Sion, Switzerland |
| Laila Reynolds | 13 | 1-Jun | G | Jr. | PG County, Md. |
| Caterina Piatti | 14 | 4-Jun | F | Fr. | Scandiano, Italy |
| Liv McGill | 23 | 9-May | G | So | Minneapolis, Minn. |
Gator Bites
- As of Tuesday, Nov. 18, Florida ranks among the SEC leaders in several statistical categories: fifth in points per game (86.2), eighth in scoring margin (+30.6), seventh in field goal percentage (.482), tied for fifth in steals (12.0), and second in turnover margin (+11.2).
- Liv McGill narrowly missed her second career triple-double on Nov. 3 against North Florida, finishing with 26-point, 9-rebound, 9-assist effort. In the following game versus Chattanooga on Nov. 6, she came up just two rebounds short, recording 38 points, 10 assists and 8 rebounds.
- On Tuesday, Nov. 11, Liv McGill became the first player in Florida women’s basketball history to be honored as a US Basketball Writers Association National Player of the Week. During that stretch, she averaged 27.7 points, 6.0 rebounds, 7.3 assists, and 5.00 steals, while shooting 40.9 percent from three-point range across three victories. She also earned SEC Player of the Week recognition for the same performances.
- Liv McGill's 611 points last season ranked third nationally among freshmen and set a new program record for first-year players. She has scored in double figures in 37 of her 41 career games at Florida.
- Laila Reynolds went a perfect 10-for-10 from the free throw line on Nov. 10 vs. Jacksonville.
- Me'Arah O'Neal has already recorded three double-doubles this season, building on the one she posted as a freshman.
- Nyadieng Yiech delivered a flawless shooting performance in the Gators win over Samford on Nov. 13.
PROJECTED FLORIDA STATE STARTERS
| No. | Ht. | Pos. | Class | Hometown / Previous Schools | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jasmine Shavers | 3 | 8-May | G | Sr. | Mesquite, Texas / Texas Tech, Miss. St. |
| Sydney Bowles | 11 | Jun-00 | G | Sr. | Lithonia, Ga. / Texas A&M |
| Emma Risch | 12 | 1-Jun | G | Jr. | Melbourne, Fla. / Notre Dame |
| Tatum Greene | 13 | 3-Jun | G | So. | Baltimore, Md. / Boston College |
| Pania Davis | 24 | 6-Jun | C | Jr. | Perth, Australia |
| Solé Williams | 15 | 9-May | G | Jr. | Cincinnati, Ohio / Texas A&M |
*injured last game, but expected to start if cleared.
Seminoles Quick Hits
- Florida State currently sits tied for 18th nationally in three-pointers made per contest, averaging 9.4.
- The Seminoles have knocked down at least eight threes in four of their five outings this season, and have reached double digits from beyond the arc in three of those games.
- Solé Williams is tied for 33rd in the country in three-pointers made per game (3.0), a mark shared with Florida’s Liv McGill.
- Williams also ranks tied for 44th nationally in three-point shooting percentage, connecting on 50 percent of her attempts.
