FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA COMMUNICATIONS
Florida Women’s Basketball
WBIT Quarterfinals
Wednesday, Mar. 26, 2025
Contact: Meg Christenson
(C): 352-647-6899
Gators Welcome Lady Raiders to O’Dome for WBIT Quarterfinals
Florida is set to face Texas Tech inside Exactech Arena Thursday night. The game will begin at 6 p.m. with the winner advancing to the 2025 WBIT Semifinals.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Florida welcomes Texas Tech to Gainesville for a Thursday night matchup inside Exactech Arena. The Gators host the Lady Raiders as the No. 3 seed in the 2025 WBIT quarterfinals. The matchup between UF and Texas Tech will tip off 6 p.m. ET and will be streamed on ESPN+.
Florida’s last time in the quarterfinals of a post-season tournament dates back to 2023. The Gators traveled to Bowling Green in March of 2023 and competed against BG in the WNIT quarterfinals. Florida ultimately dropped 69-52 to the Falcons on the road, falling just short of the NIT semifinals.
Texas Tech (19-17, 4-14 Big 12):
* Date: Thursday, Mar. 27
* Time: 6:00 p.m. ET
* Site: Exactech Arena at Stephen C. O’Connell Center<https://floridagators.com/facilities/?id=2>
* Watch: ESPN+<https://www.espn.com/espnplus/catalog/45cd175c-f9f2-338b-83b9-6d7d64001733/ncaa-women-s-basketball#bucketId=7373>
* Radio<https://floridagators.com/showcase?Live=5670>
* Stats<https://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=587975>
* Tickets<https://am.ticketmaster.com/gators/en/buy/ism/WB24BIT3?utm_source=WEB&utm_medium=SCHED&utm_campaign=WBK-SINGLE&camefrom=CFC_GATORS_WEB_SCHED_WBK-SINGLE>
A FLORIDA WIN WOULD:
* Make the Gators 5-1 in 2025 post-season play
* Mark UF’s third consecutive win in the WBIT
* Put Florida’s all-time record vs. Texas Tech at 2-0
* Guarantee the Gators a winning record for 2024-25
* Tally UF’s 12th home win in 2024-25
* Punch the Gators ticket to the WBIT Final Four
* Be Coach Finley’s first postseason quarterfinals win as head coach
* Get UF back into a postseason semifinal since 2013
* Last semifinal appearance was the WNIT in 2013
* Record Finley’s 75th win as Florida’s head coach
TALE OF THE TAPE:
Florida
THE NUMBERS
Texas Tech
75.5
PPG
63.7
71.7
OPP PPG
63.1
+3.8
SCORING MARGIN
+0.6
45.5
FG %
40.8
41.0
OPP FG%
41.9
32.6
3 FG%
31.6
72.9
FT %
70.4
39.8
REBOUNDS PG
33.2
14.6
ASSISTS PG
11.7
17.1
TURNOVERS PG
18.0
7.3
STEALS PG
9.0
3.9
BLOCKS PG
4.3
THE SERIES:
The Gators and the Lady Raiders have only met once before in recorded history, dating back to December of 2018. UF took a 72-67 home win over Texas Tech in the Big 12/SEC Challenge to put then all-time record at 1-0 in favor of the Gators.
GATORS X LADY RAIDERS HISTORY:
Florida and Texas Tech have a limited history with only one recorded matchup between the respective SEC and Big 12 schools. Their sole meeting was on Dec. 2, 2018, inside Exactech Arena. With the home-court advantage, Florida defeated the Lady Raiders 72-67. Thursday’s matchup will mark the first meeting between the Lady Raiders and Gators in seven years.
PROJECTED FLORIDA STARTERS:
Florida
No.
Height
Position
Class
Hometown/Previous School
Alexia Dizeko<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-basketball/roster/alexia-dizeko/16856>
9
5-11
F
Sr.
Sion, Switzerland
Laila Reynolds<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-basketball/roster/laila-reynolds/16860>
13
6-1
G
So.
PG County, MD
Jeriah Warren<https://admin.floridagators.com/sports/womens-basketball/roster/jeriah-warren/16862>
20
6-0
G
Sr.
Lake Charles, LA
Liv McGill<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-basketball/roster/liv-mcgill/16880>
23
5-9
G
Fr.
Minneapolis, MN
Ra Shaya Kyle<https://admin.floridagators.com/sports/womens-basketball/roster/ra-shaya-kyle/16858>
24
6-6
C
Sr.
Marion, Ind. / Purdue
FLORIDA’S LAST TIME OUT:
The Gators defeated UNLV 86-84 in an epic road battle to secure their spot in the 2025 WBIT quarterfinals on Sunday night. Florida had four players score in double digits and used a buzzer beating three from Kenza Salgues to seal the win.
McGill led the Gators’ scoring effort with a 22-point performance, followed by Warren posting 21 points and going 6-9 from the three. Defensively, the Gators were led by Alexia Gassett<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-basketball/roster/alexia-gassett/17707> and Kyle<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-basketball/roster/ra-shaya-kyle/16858>, each grabbing seven rebounds. McGill followed on the defensive end bringing in six rebounds and snagging four steals. Overall UF outrebounded the Rebels 37-35 and closed out shooting 50 percent from the field.
PROJECTED TEXAS TECH STARTERS:
Texas Tech
No.
Height
Position
Class
Hometown/Previous School
Jasmine Shavers
3
5-8
G
Jr.
Mesquite, Texas / Mississippi State
Bailey Maupin
20
5-10
G
Jr.
Gruver, Texas/ Gruver HS
Sarengbe Sanogo
11
6-3
F/C
Jr.
Paris, France/ Odessa College
Denae Fritz
5
5-11
G
Jr.
Maryville, Tenn./ Baylor
KIlah Freelon
2
6-1
G/F
Jr.
Denver Colo. / Mullen HS
ABOUT TEXAS TECH:
The Lady Raiders enter the third round of the WBIT with a 19-7 overall record from the 2024-25 season. During conference play, Texas Tech posted 4 wins, defeating Houston at home and away, BYU, and Colorado.
During the Big 12 Tournament, Texas Tech defeated Kansas, and Utah before falling 62-59 to Oklahoma State in the quarterfinals.
Texas Tech’s most recent contest was a Sunday win over the No. 1 seeded, Virginia Tech. The Lady Raiders defeated the Hokies 69-59 on the road to solidify their spot in the WBIT quarterfinals. Texas Tech went unseeded in the 2025 WBIT tournament and has already taken out the No. 1 and No. 4 seeded teams. The Raider will now travel to Gainesville and face the No. 3 seeded Florida Gators.
Individually, Texas Tech is led in scoring by Shavers with an average of 14.7 points per game. The only other Lady Raider posting double figures in scoring is Maupin with 13.7 points per game. Freelon leads Texas Tech on the defensive end with an average of 4.3 rebounds per game, followed by Sanogo and Shavers at 3.8.
ABOUT THE WBIT:
Event Information<https://www.ncaa.com/championships/basketball-women/wbit/eventinfo>
Selection Criteria<https://www.ncaa.com/_flysystem/public-s3/files/2024-01/WBIT%20Principles%20and%20Procedures%202024.pdf>
Updated Bracket<https://www.ncaa.com/_flysystem/public-s3/images/2025/03/21/2025%20WBIT%20Bracket%20-%20First%20Round%20Games%20(Final).pdf>
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