Florida women end a 25-game skid against ranked teams

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) — About a dozen Texas fans who made the trip to Gainesville to watch their Longhorns beat Florida in women's basketball recently were curious about a relatively small turnout for the weeknight game. "Is this normal?" one asked. It's been roughly the same for years, even decades. The Gators (17-13, 5-10 Southeastern Conference) have done little to endear themselves to the local community, are on the verge of missing the NCAA Women's Tournament for the ninth time in 10 years and could have a coaching change in the coming weeks. The program remains the only one of 19 on campus without a conference crown, a glaring hole for one of most accomplished athletic departments in college sports. Kelly Rae Finley is 92-73 in five seasons at Florida, including 30-49 in league play following a 74-67 win against No. 19 Ole Miss on Thursday night. The victory ended a 25-game skid against ranked teams in the regular season. "This is the breakthrough," sophomore point guard Liv McGill said. "You guys just witnessed it. It's on from here." It might need to be to save Finley's job. She took over a program in disarray in 2021, one reeling from Cam Newbauer's resignation amid allegations he verbally abused players and staff members. The Gators made the NCAA Tournament in Finley's interim season, but her tenure has been mostly downhill since despite having three McDonald's All-Americans — McGill, Me'Arah O'Neal and Laila Reynolds — on her current roster. 'These are the players that we need to get behind' McGill set the school's single-season scoring record (639 points) against the Rebels. O'Neal, another sophomore and the daughter of basketball Hall of Famer Shaquille O'Neal, leads the team in rebounding and blocked shots and is second in scoring. Reynolds, a junior, gives Florida a triple threat in every game. "I don't know another sophomore-junior duo in the conference that plays as many meaningful minutes for their squad as we have here at the University of Florida," Finley said. "If we are who we say we are and we want to build things — we want to build it on a strong foundation — I think these are the players that we need to get behind." Florida looks competent, even competitive, at times. But there's usually a stretch in which little goes right. A daunting SEC schedule hasn't helped. Finley is 20-46 in her last 66 league games, a dismal .303 winning percentage. And Florida's average home attendance (1,895) ranks last in the SEC by a significant margin. 'This is not the league to try to live on 18- and 19-years-olds' Florida has enjoyed mild success over the years but hasn't advanced past the second round of the NCAAs since Carol Ross coached the team in 1998. The Gators tried different paths since: hiring national championship-winning coach Carolyn Peck in 2002 and bringing back alumna Amanda Butler in 2007. Athletic director Scott Stricklin hired Newbauer over fellow finalist Becky Hammon in 2017. None of them led Florida to national prominence while other women's programs on campus flourished. And there has been an opportunity for growth in women's hoops, with traditional SEC powers Georgia and Tennessee giving way in recent years to LSU and South Carolina. The addition of Oklahoma and Texas in 2024 only pushed the Gators further down the league ladder. "They've got good players," Texas coach Vic Schaefer said. "But you've got to go through it a little bit in this league. This is not the league to try to live on 18- and 19-years-olds. It's rough." How quickly could Florida close the gap? There's no clear path to success, although there seems to be a direct correlation between spending and winning. Revenue sharing had made it even tougher to compete with the SEC heavyweights. Many league schools used a backpay formula from the House vs. NCAA settlement as a guide to create a baseline model for the $20.5 million in revenue sharing ($18 million to student-athletes). The formula sent 75% to football, 15% to men's basketball, 5% to women's basketball and 5% for other sports. That would mean roughly $900,000 annually for women's hoops. But the Gators have spent a fraction of that on women's hoops, opting for a seemingly better return on their investment by allotting more to programs that have shown a penchant for competing for championships. Finley expressed concern about keeping the core of her team intact last year, but she managed to retain McGill, O'Neal and Reynolds for another shot at turning the corner. They have, at least so far, come up short. And it could cost Finley her job. If she's fired, Florida would owe her $450,000 for the final year of her contract and essentially start over in its search to build a winner in women's basketball. ___ Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here and here (AP News mobile app). AP women's college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball