Gators Women’s Hoops Dominate Florida A&M

With the Gators football team falling 52-35 to LSU on Saturday and Florida nation’s morale at an all-season low, the UF women’s basketball team made sure to start this week on a high note.

Secured the win✅#GoGators | Presented by @WellsFargo pic.twitter.com/obtEQHpvF4

— Gators Women’s Basketball (@GatorsWBK) November 14, 2023

On Monday night, the Gators took care of business by beating FAMU 92-54, marking the highest-scoring regular-season win beating Texas A&M 97-89 on Jan. 9, 2022.

Gators O’Dome-inance

Florida moves to 3-0. The last time the team had opened the season with three consecutive victories was in 2019.

When it comes to non-conference home play, the Gators are unmatched. The women’s basketball team is on a 25-game win streak against non-SEC opponents at the Exactech Arena.

Against the Rattlers (0-3), the home dominance continued to rain true. With a 12-5 record in the series and extending their win streak to five against FAMU, Florida is 9-1 against the Orange & Green at home. The last time the Gators lost to the HBCU was in 2009.

3-0. #GoGators pic.twitter.com/YzPiByHxyO

— Gators Women’s Basketball (@GatorsWBK) November 14, 2023

Matharu Masterclass

After not being able to play in 2022 due to transfer rules, Aliyah Matharu’s hunger to get back on the court has shown up early.

https://twitter.com/GatorsWBK/status/1724235117118550282

The senior guard has started the year strong by averaging 20.7 points per game. Matharu dropped 25 points on Bethune-Cookman.

Against the Rattlers, the Texas transfer did not let up. In the first quarter, she scored 12 of the Gators’ 20 points. Then by the end of the second half, she had 19 points and five rebounds. In 27 minutes of play, Matharu ended with 22 points, three assists, seven rebounds and three steals.

The Washington, D.C., native talked about her appetite to play basketball again affecting her impressive performance.

“With me not playing for a year I’m pretty hungry on both ends of the ball, but I mean, it’s clicking for me,” Matharu said. “My teammates are finding me, I’m trying to find them and do my best with that.”

Reynolds Rises

When Florida coach Kelly Rae Finley brought in a top-20 high school recruit, she told her one thing.

“We didn’t bring you here to be a point guard,” Finley said. “We brought you here to be an SG. A scoring guard.”

https://twitter.com/GatorsWBK/status/1724237985355382840

For Laila Reynolds, her first two collegiate games were not the most productive scoring-wise. In 37 minutes of play, the freshman scored a combined 12 points. But in the game against Florida A&M, she kicked things into a new gear.

The five-star guard out of PG County, Maryland listened to her coach’s words and scored 20 points against the Rattlers. The 2021 McDonald’s Basketball Classic All-Tournament team member discussed after the game how she has started to come into her own at the collegiate level.

“I’ve started to get really comfortable on the court and that’s because of my teammates helping me out,” Reynolds said. “Being able to get this type of confidence is something I have been working on at practice and also just being able to push myself to better the team has always been my motivation to work harder.”

Matharu and Reynolds were not the only Gators in double figures. Ra Shaya Kyle (15) and Leilani Correa (14) were both able to come up big in Florida’s dominant win against FAMU.

Up Next

FSU rivalry week comes early, as the Gators host the No. 12 Seminoles (2-0) on Friday at the O’Connell Center. Last time out, the Garnet & Gold beat Florida 92-77 on Nov. 16, 2022.