Gator fans hadn’t felt like this since the beginning of the season, when Florida was outscoring teams by over thirty points. But today, Florida fans were getting that nostalgic emotion while Missouri fans sat anxiously awaiting the game’s conclusion.
In the end, Florida (13-8, 1-5 SEC) beat out Missouri (13-7, 1-5 SEC) 89-71 in a desperate scramble for the Gators' first Southeastern Conference win of the season.
Florida opened the game at full tilt, playing like it was back in opening week when it was blowing out teams by at least thirty points. The first quarter has been where the Gators struggle the most, but the team broke that trend and outscored Missouri by 19 points in the opening 10 minutes.
In the same amount of time, Missouri racked up eight points and five turnovers. This is in contrast to its last four games, where the team scored its most points in the first quarter. But today, the Tigers shot 17% from the field, 0% from the three, and failed to score any points in the first five minutes of the first quarter.
But in the second, Missouri found its rhythm behind sophomore guards Grace Slaughter and Shannon Dowell. The two combined for 52 points and eight rebounds on the night, each taking turns leading the offense.
Despite their efforts, the Tigers couldn’t overcome early struggles that put the team in a hole.
“Unfortunately, tonight, we weren’t able to play with them in that first quarter,” said Missouri head coach Kellie Harper.
The Gators were a triple threat, both from the 3-point line and from the three players that led the charge. Sophomore guard Liv McGill, junior guard Laila Reynolds and sophomore forward Me’Arah O’Neal were the only players to have scored double-digit points in the first half.
Missouri had a difficult time stopping McGill from scoring both inside and outside the arc. McGill finished the night with 28 points, nine rebounds and seven assists.
“We’re not gonna have a gameplan that holds Liv McGill,” Harper said. “Nobody has that gameplan.”
O’Neal’s best quarter was the first, where she dominated in the paint. She finished with 17 points and three rebounds, shooting 3-5 from beyond the arc. Reynolds showed out in the second quarter, where she knocked down a triple that put Florida up by 15. She finished with 14 points, three rebounds and three assists.
From the 3-point line, Florida shot 10-25 (40%), a big improvement from the season average of 25.6%. Five players were able to sink triples during the game, reflecting the ability to spread the floor.
The Gators maintained their lead for the entire afternoon. So, a young Missouri fan in the crowd took it upon himself to help out the Tigers and screamed every time a Gator stepped foot on the free-throw line. But his tactic didn’t seem to faze Florida’s players as the team went 11-15 from the stripe.
The big three received a standing ovation when they were subbed out for the final time in the game with 52.2 seconds on the clock.
Gator’s graduate guard Alexia Dizeko started the third quarter with a jump shot, a layup and then a three-pointer, going on a seven-point scoring streak all on her own. She played like this all night, eventually setting a new career high for most points made in a game with 17.
“I would do everything for the team,”Dizeko said. “Defense is one of my favorite things. I say to myself, ‘she’s not going to score on me.’”
She and her team played desperately, scrambling for every loose ball and fighting for every rebound. Dizeko fouled out of the game during the fourth quarter, but her efforts forced crucial turnovers.
“Once we feel the feeling, we’re not going to look back,” Finley said after the win.
Florida has eight days to recover and practice before it faces LSU in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center in Baton Rouge at 8 p.m. ET Monday.
Contact Isis Snow at isnow@alligator.org. Follow her on X @isis_snoww.
Isis is a junior sports journalism student and is the volleyball beat reporter for fall 2025. This is her third semester with The Alligator. She enjoys reading, playing basketball and weight lifting in her free time.
