This yr’s Florida girls’s basketball group has expertise. The truth is, they solely have one freshman, Laila Reynolds, on the roster, however then once more, she was ranked top-20 in her recruiting class, so greatest imagine she will actually, actually hoop. The squad’s sole rookie dropped 20 factors in opposition to Florida A&M and just lately posted 18 in a win in opposition to Georgia Tech. Oh, and her teammates Ra Shaya Kyle, Aliyah Matharu and Alberte Rimdal all scored double digits, too. Sheesh.
With a standout freshman already logging big-time minutes and a roster that’s geared up with 5 juniors and 5 seniors, plus French graduate pupil Kenza Salgues, who performed at Miami and made her Gators debut earlier this season, it’s wanting like this group might be holding its personal within the SEC this yr.
After ending 19-15 final season and making the NCAA event in 2021-22, the Gators will look to enhance upon a first-round exit to UCF. In the event that they do, they’ll make historical past: the final time the Gators made it to the second spherical was in 2014, and so they’ve but to advance previous the Elite Eight. Issues are already wanting up, although. With head coach Kelly Rae Finley on the helm, the Gators had their first 20-win season since 2015-16 below Finley’s steerage, going 21-11 in 2021-22.
They’ve additionally received SEC legend—and former SLAM cowl star—Rhyne Howard on workers as an assistant coach and director of participant personnel this yr. The Atlanta Dream star additionally comes from Gator royalty. Her mother, Rhvonja, performed for the group from 1987-91 (captain in ’90-91) and nonetheless holds a number of program data, together with top-10 in profession steals.
“I at all times knew sooner or later that I might have the connection again with this faculty, and simply to be right here and to be liked and to really feel how a lot of a household it’s already simply confirmed all that,” Howard stated in an official faculty press launch.
The Gators are already off to a implausible begin; as we went to press, they had been 6-2, their solely losses coming from a mixed 7 level differential. Their spark, as Kyle stated after the group’s season opener, largely comes from sixth-year senior guard Zippy Broughton, who’s again after being out for the previous 20 months on account of a shoulder harm. The previous Rutgers switch persevered by way of the rehab course of and has returned as not solely a pivotal scorer, however a frontrunner.
“She brings a distinct sort of spark to our group,” stated Kyle, by way of an article on FloridaGators.com.
Provides Coach Finley: “Her skill to struggle by way of adversity when lots of people may select to hold it up…I’m simply excited and completely satisfied she’s chosen our group to chase her desires. She’s doing so fearlessly daily. It means lots to our program that she is keen to have nice willpower to get again on the courtroom.”
That spark is precisely what the Gators will want this season to take them on what may very well be a doubtlessly deep postseason run.