The Gators are set to welcome UNI for a 7 p.m. tipoff inside the O’Dome on Thursday. The postseason matchup will initiate the second annual 2025 Women’s Basketball Invitation Tournament.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Florida will host Northern Iowa inside the O’Dome on Thursday evening in the first round of the 2025 WBIT. The postseason contest is slated to begin at 7 p.m. and will be available to stream via ESPN+.
UF enters the WBIT as a No. 3 seed after making a run to the quarterfinals in the SEC tournament earlier this month. The Panthers will travel to Gainesville after making a run to the quarterfinals in their respective conference tournament, falling 64-46 to Belmont.
The winner of Thursday’s matchup will advance to the second round of the Women’s Basketball Invitation Tournament and face either UNLV or Hawaii on Sunday afternoon.
NORTHERN IOWA (17-16, 11-9 MVC):
* Date: Thursday, Mar. 20
* Time: 7:00 p.m.
* Site: Exactech Arena at Stephen C. O’Connell Center<https://floridagators.com/facilities/?id=2>
* Stream: ESPN+<https://www.espn.com/espnplus/player/_/id/a74e8803-438b-4b60-9c71-cd2b53f96bf6#bucketId=7958>
* Radio: ESPN Gainesville 98.1 FM / 850 AM<https://floridagators.com/showcase?Live=5659>
* Stats: StatBroadcast<https://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=587677>
* Tickets<https://am.ticketmaster.com/gators/en/buy/ism/V0IyNEJJVDE=?utm_source=WEB&utm_medium=SCHED&utm_campaign=WBK-SINGLE&camefrom=CFC_GATORS_WEB_SCHED_WBK-SINGLE>
A FLORIDA WIN WOULD:
* Be UF’s first win in the WBIT
* Make the Gators 3-1 in 2025 postseason play
* Put Florida’s all-time WBIT record at 1-1
* Lift the Gators record over UNI to 2-0
* Even the Gators 2024-25 record to 17-17
* Tally UF’s 11th win at home in 2024-2
TALE OF THE TAPE:
Florida
THE NUMBERS
UNI
74.9
PPG
74.2
71.3
OPP PPG
69.0
+3.6
SCORING MARGIN
+5.2
45.2
FG %
44.5
40.8
OPP FG%
42.1
31.6
3 FG%
35.8
72.8
FT %
71.0
39.9
REBOUNDS PG
34.9
14.4
ASSISTS PG
13.8
17.2
TURNOVERS PG
12.7
7.1
STEALS PG
9.1
3.9
BLOCKS PG
3.8
THE SERIES:
The Gators and the Panthers have only met once, with UF securing an 80-63 win over UNI in 2012.
GATORS X PANTHERS HISTORY:
Florida and Northern Iowa have only met once in their respective school history. The sole meeting took place in 2012 and was in neutral territory. The Gators defeated the Panthers by a margin of 17 points (80-63), in Las Vegas as part of the South Point Thanksgiving Shootout. The Gators’ victory over the Panthers was under Coach Amanda Butler.
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://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’ last time on the court was on Mar. 8, 2025, in Greenville, S.C. at the SEC post-season tournament. Florida faced a tough LSU team in the quarterfinals falling 101-87. Florida was led by Liv McGill<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-basketball/roster/liv-mcgill/16880>, with a 16-point outing, followed by Jeriah Warren<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-basketball/roster/jeriah-warren/16862> contributing 14 for the Gators. Ra Shaya Kyle<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-basketball/roster/ra-shaya-kyle/16858> led Florida on the boards securing 11 of the team’s 31 rebounds.
Overall, the young Florida team showed great promise against strong conference opponents. The Gators defeated Auburn and No. 6 seed Alabama, making them the only SEC team to win back-to-back games to punch a ticket into the quarterfinals.
PROJECTED NORTHERN IOWA STARTERS:
Northern Iowa
No.
Height
Position
Class
Hometown/Previous School
Maya McDermott
00
5-6
G
Sr.
Johnston, Iowa/ Johnston HS
Kayba Laube
24
5-9
G
Sr.
Marion, Iowa/ Marion HS
Ryley Goebel
05
5-11
F
Jr.
Urbana, Iowa/ Center Point- Urbana HS
Emerson Green
04
5-10
G
Sr.
Cedar Falls, Iowa/ Cedar Falls HS
Shateah Wetering
13
6-0
F
Sr.
Montezuma, Iowa/ Montezuma HS
ABOUT NORTHERN IOWA:
Northern Iowa enters Thursday’s competition with a 17-16 overall record and an 11-9 MVC record. The Panthers have proven to be a tough opponent recording an 87-75 win over then-ranked No. 8 Iowa State and taking a one-point loss to Auburn (65-64) earlier this season.
UNI has been led on offense by McDermott averaging 18.5 points per outing and posting a combined 609 points in 33 games. Laube and Goebel also average double-digits in scoring for the Panthers. Laube holds a 12.6 average while Goebel averages 10.2 points per game. Goebel also leads the Panthers on the boards averaging 5.8 rebounds per game for a total of 191 on the season.
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>
Full Bracket<https://www.ncaa.com/news/basketball-women/article/2025-03-16/2025-wbit-bracket-schedule-tv-channels-womens-basketball-tournament>
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