Gators Women’s Basketball Looks to End Four-Game Skid On the Road Against Arkansas

Florida women’s basketball (11-11) is in Fayetteville to take on Arkansas (9-14) on Monday. Both teams are 2-6 in conference play and looking to improve. Florida leads the all-time series with a 31-13 record. When the teams last met on Feb. 8, 2024, the Gators defeated the Razorbacks 85-81 at home.

monday matchup

@ Arkansas
@ 7 pm #GoGators pic.twitter.com/Cclrk4ptrx

— Gators Women’s Basketball (@GatorsWBK) February 3, 2025

Looking Back

Arkansas is coming off a 72-51 home court win to Texas A&M on Thursday. The Razorbacks took the lead early and never let go. They continued to play aggressively, leading through all four quarters in the blowout victory. The Arkansas win snapped a four-game losing streak.

The Gators are still looking to break their own slump, coming off a fourth-straight loss to No. 23 Vanderbilt on Thursday, who had a historic night at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center. Commodores guard Mikayla Blakes scored 53 points on Florida’s defense, breaking the NCAA single-game freshman scoring record. The Gators cut the deficit to eight in the second half but couldn’t complete the comeback, losing 99-86.

Monday Night Matchup

The Gators will need to prioritize defending against Razorback guard Izzy Higginbottom, who scored 33 points in Arkansas’ last game. The result marks her fourth game this season with over 30 points. Higginbottom also leads the SEC in scoring, averaging 23.6 points per game.

The next highest scorer for Arkansas is Kiki Smith with only 10.5 points per game, a big drop off from Higginbottom’s contribution. Shutting down Higginbottom limits the Razorback offense and will be key in securing a victory for the Gators Monday night.

Florida will rely on freshman guard Liv McGill to facilitate offensive play. McGill has scored at least 20 points in nine games this season, including 20 against Vanderbilt.

Senior center Ra Shaya Kyle is another standout for the Gators, averaging 15.2 points per game. On Thursday, she led Florida in scoring, tallying 23 points and surpassing 1,000 career points (1,016). Kyle is also ranked third in the SEC for double-doubles with 11.

BIG SHAY BROKE 1K 😤#GoGators pic.twitter.com/kKldTfvnlj

— Gators Women’s Basketball (@GatorsWBK) February 2, 2025

Game Time

The Gators will face off against the Razorbacks at Bud Walton Arena. Tip-off is set for Monday at 7 p.m. The game is available for streaming on the SEC Network and airs on ESPN 98.1-FM/850-AM WRUF at 6:40 p.m.