GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The Florida Gators (17-3, 5-10) picked up their first win this season over a ranked opponent when they outlasted No. 19/20 Ole Miss (21-9, 8-7), 74-67 on Thursday evening. Liv McGill scored 28 points in the win to lead all scorers, and in doing so, moved past Tonya Washington (631 points in 1999-2000) into first place atop the Gators’ single season scoring list. She now has 639 points on the year. Laila Reynolds added 14 points, and Alexia Dizeko, playing in her final home game for Florida, recorded a team-high plus/minus of +12, leading the team’s defensive effort in the process.
KEY RUNS
1st Quarter (Rebels 17, Gators 16)
* Neither team led by more than three points in the first, and both squads had their offenses in gear as the Gators made six of 12 shots from the field, and the Rebels went seven for 14. Tianna Thompson led all scorers with nine points on a trio of triples, while Gift Ezekiel paced the Gators with five.
2nd Quarter (Gators 40, Rebels 37)
* Florida led by one, 23-22, with 8:37 to go before the half when the Rebels went on a 7-0 run to push their lead to six. Two possessions later, they made it a seven-point lead, 32-25 for their largest advantage of the first half. A 6-0 Gators’ run late in the period tied the score, and a 6-1 run to close the second quarter put Florida up three at the break. McGill scored 15 points in the stanza to lead all scorers. She made six of seven shots in the period as Florida went 10 for 13 from the floor. Ole Miss made six of 12 shots in the second, with Thompson and Latasha Lattimore leading the Rebels with five points apiece.
3rd Quarter (Gators 55, Rebels 50)
* Heading into the third quarter, McGill needed two points to become the Gators’ single-season scoring leader. Tonya Washington held the record since she scored 631 points in the 1999-2000 season. McGill topped that mark with a layup with 8:13 to go in the third. Florida scored the first four points of the period to go up seven, 44-37. Both defenses picked up the pace in the period as the Gators went four for 11 from the floor, and the Rebels made three of their 13 attempts. They were more effective from the free throw line as Florida made seven of nine from the stripe, and Ole Miss went six for eight.
4th Quarter (Gators 74, Rebels 67)
* Florida was still up five with 8:45 on the clock when they rattled off nine straight to give the Gators their largest lead of the night, 65-51. The Rebels countered with a 9-0 run of their own to slice Florida’s advantage to five, but they were never able to get any closer. Florida made seven of 10 free throws down the stretch to seal the win.
KEY STATS
* Florida connected on 59.1 percent of their field goal attempts (26 for 44), while Ole Miss made 38.6% of theirs (22 of 57). That field goal percentage was the team’s highest of the season.
* Florida went 21 for 28 from the free throw line while the Rebels made 14 of 21.
* The Rebels made nine of 22 from three-point range, while Florida went one for four.
* The Gators outscored the Rebels 46-20 in the paint.
* Ole Miss outrebounded the Gators 12-4 on the offensive glass, which led to a 13-6 edge in second chance points.
GATOR BITES
* The Gators are now 25-26 all-time against Ole Miss, and snapped a seven-game losing streak to the Rebels.
* Liv McGill scored in double figures for the 31st straight game (28 points).
* Liv McGill’s 28 points in the game give her 1,250 for her career, moving her to within seven points of Jennifer George ’13 in 20th place (1,257) on the Gators’ career scoring chart.
* Liv McGill’s 28 points give her 639 on the season, which broke the Gators’ single-season record of 631 set by Tonya Washington in the 1999-2000 campaign.
* Laila Reynolds scored in double figures for the 21st time this season (14 points).
* Florida connected on a season-high 59.1 percent (26 for 44) of its field goal attempts.
* The Gators attempted a season-low four three-pointers.
NEXT OPPONENT
The Gators final home game of the regular season is against No. 23/24 Georgia on Sunday, March 1 at 3 p.m. EST. The game is being broadcast on SECN.
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