Florida Gators women's basketball

Florida Gators women's basketball
Florida Gators women's basketball
	2023–24 Florida Gators women's basketball team
University	University of Florida
Head coach	Kelly Rae Finley (3rd season)
Conference	SEC
Location	Gainesville, Florida
Arena	Exactech Arena at Stephen C. O'Connell Center ; (Capacity: 10,136)
Nickname	Florida Gators
Student section	Orange and Blue Crew
Colors	Orange and blue;
Uniforms
NCAA tournament Elite Eight
	1997
NCAA tournament Sweet Sixteen
	1997, 1998
NCAA tournament second round
	1993, 1995, 1997, 1998, 2001, 2004, 2009, 2012, 2014
NCAA tournament appearances
	1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2009, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2022

The Florida Gators women's basketball team represents the University of Florida in the sport of basketball. The Gators compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The Gators play their home games at the O'Connell Center located on the university's Gainesville, Florida campus, and are currently led by head coach Kelly Rae Finley, following the resignation of Cameron Newbauer.^[3]^[4] The Gators have appeared in 15 NCAA tournaments, with a record of 12–15.

History[edit]

Women's basketball was approved as a sport by the University of Florida in March 1972, and began play in 1973 as a club team. In 1975, the Gators debuted as a varsity program under head coach Paula Welch. They made local headlines in 1976 by winning the "state championship" by beating the other three women's teams in the state at that time.^[5]

While historically overshadowed by divisional (and national) basketball powers Tennessee and Georgia, the Gators have made several NCAA tournament appearances and sent players to the WNBA, such as DeLisha Milton-Jones. The winningest coach at Florida is Carol Ross, who guided the team for twelve seasons but left Florida to coach the women's basketball team at her alma mater, Ole Miss.

Florida's women's team was coached by Carolyn Peck, a former WNBA coach who won a national title with Purdue, from 2002 to 2007. Peck was fired midway through the 2006–2007 season (though she was allowed to finish out the season), after enduring the worst losing streak of any Gator sports program.

Former University of Florida player and previous Charlotte coach Amanda Butler was named the new women's basketball coach on April 13, 2007, and remained in that position until 2017.^[6]

On March 27, 2017, Cameron Newbauer was announced as the 10th head coach of the University of Florida women's basketball program.^[7]

2021 - 2022 Roster[edit]

2021–22 Florida Gators women's basketball team

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Year	Hometown
F	00	Taliyah Wyche	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	Fr	Fort Lauderdale, FL
G	1	Kiara Smith	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)		District Heights, MD
F	2	Tatyana Wyche	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	RS Fr	Fort Lauderdale, FL
G	4	Zippy Broughton	5 ft 7 in (1.7 m)	RS Sr	Wetumpka, AL
G	5	Alberte Rimdal	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)	Fr	Koge, Denmark
G	11	Emanuely de Oliveira	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)	Sr	Criciúma, Brazil
F	12	Jordyn Merritt	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	RS So	Plano, TX
F	13	Floor Toonders	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	So	Wageningen, Netherlands
G	14	Kristina Moore	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	RS Sr	Sydney, Australia
G	15	Nina Rikards	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)	Jr	Queens, NY
G	20	Jeriah Warren	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	Fr	Lake Charles, LA
G	22	Brynn Farrell	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	So	Ortley Beach, NJ
F	25	Faith Dut	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	—	Jr	Vancouver

Head coach

Kelly Rae Finley (Colorado State)

Assistant coach(es)

Julian Assibey (William Penn)
Erika Lang-Montgomery (Florida)
Julie Plank (Ohio State)

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
(W) Walk-on

Injured
Current redshirt

Roster
Last update: September 21, 2018

Year by year results[edit]

Conference tournament winners noted with # Source^[8]

Season	Team	Overall	Conference	Standing	Postseason	Coaches' poll	AP poll
Paula Welch (Independent) (1974–1976)
1974–75	Paula Welch	13–6	–		FAIAW
1975–76	Paula Welch	16–8	–		AIAW Region III
Paula Welch:		29–14	–
Cathy Davis (Independent) (1976–1979)
1976–77	Cathy Davis	12–10	–		AIAW Region III
1977–78	Cathy Davis	12–14	–
1978–79	Cathy Davis	12–15	–		AIAW Region III
Cathy Davis:		36–39	–
Mickie DeMoss (Independent, SEC) (1979–1983)
1979–80	Mickie DeMoss	10–19	–		AIAW Region III
1980–81	Mickie DeMoss	11–17	–		FAIAW
1981–82	Mickie DeMoss	13–16	–		FAIAW
1982–83	Mickie DeMoss	11–16	1–7	5th East
Mickie DeMoss:		45–68	1–7
Debbie Yow (SEC) (1983–1985)
1983–84	Debbie Yow	19–9	2–6	5th East
1984–85	Debbie Yow	22–9	4–4	T–2nd East	NWIT Second Place
Debbie Yow:		41–18	6–10
Carol Whitmire (SEC) (1985–1990)
1985–86	Carol Whitmire	10–18	2–7	9th
1986–87	Carol Whitmire	12–16	0–9	10th
1987–88	Carol Whitmire	9–18	1–8	9th
1988–89	Carol Whitmire	15–14	1–8	T–9th
1989–90	Carol Whitmire	12–10	1–6
Carol Whitmire:		58–76	5–38
Lea Henry (SEC) (1990–1990)
1990	Lea Henry	3–3	0–2	9th
Lea Henry:		3–3	0–2
Carol Ross (SEC) (1990–2002)
1990–91	Carol Ross	17–11	3–6	T–8th
1991–92	Carol Ross	15–13	4–7	T–7th
1992–93	Carol Ross	19–10	6–5	T–4th	NCAA Play-In
1993–94	Carol Ross	22–7	8–3	3rd	NCAA First Round	25	20
1994–95	Carol Ross	24–9	7–4	T–4th	NCAA Second Round	18	17
1995–96	Carol Ross	21–9	6–5	T–5th	NCAA First Round	22	16
1996–97	Carol Ross	24–9	9–3	T–3rd	NCAA Elite Eight	6	7
1997–98	Carol Ross	23–9	10–4	T–2nd	NCAA Sweet Sixteen	12	13
1998–99	Carol Ross	19–14	6–8	T–8th	NCAA First Round
1999–2000	Carol Ross	21–13	6–8	T–6th	WNIT Finals
2000–01	Carol Ross	24–6	11–3	T–2nd	NCAA Second Round	18	14
2001–02	Carol Ross	18–11	8–6	T–4th	NCAA First Round		24
Carol Ross:		247–121	84–62
Carolyn Peck (SEC) (2002–2007)
2002–03	Carolyn Peck	9–19	1–13	T–11th
2003–04	Carolyn Peck	19–11	8–6	T–4th	NCAA Second Round
2004–05	Carolyn Peck	14–15	5–9	8th	WNIT First Round
2005–06	Carolyn Peck	21–9	8–6	T–5th	NCAA First Round
2006–07	Carolyn Peck	9–22	2–12	11th
Carolyn Peck:		72–76	24–46
Amanda Butler (SEC) (2007–2017)
2007–08	Amanda Butler	19–14	6–8	T–7th	WNIT Third Round
2008–09	Amanda Butler	24–8	9–5	T4th	NCAA Second Round	23	22
2009–10	Amanda Butler	15–17	7–9	T–7th	WNIT Second Round
2010–11	Amanda Butler	20–15	7–9	8th	WNIT Third Round
2011–12	Amanda Butler	20–13	8–8	8th	NCAA Second Round
2012–13	Amanda Butler	22–15	6–10	T–8th	WNIT Semifinals
2013–14	Amanda Butler	20–13	8–8	5th	NCAA Second round
2014–15	Amanda Butler	13–17	5–11	12th
2015–16	Amanda Butler	22–8	10–6	T–4th	NCAA First Round
2016–17	Amanda Butler	15–16	5–11	T–11th
Amanda Butler:		190–136	71–85
Cameron Newbauer (SEC) (2017–2021)
2017–18	Cameron Newbauer	11–19	3–13	T-11th
2018–19	Cameron Newbauer	8–23	3–13	T-12th
2019–20	Cameron Newbauer	15–15	6–10	10th
2020–21	Cameron Newbauer	12–14	3–11	11th	WNIT Second Round
Cameron Newbauer:		46–71	15–47
Kelly Rae Finley (SEC) (2021–Present)
2021-22	Kelly Rae Finley	21-11	10-6	5th	NCAA First Round	23	21
2022-23	Kelly Rae Finley	19–15	5–11	T-10th
2023-24	Kelly Rae Finley	6–2	–
Kelly Rae Finley:		46-28	15-17
Total:		790–672 (.540)
National champion Postseason invitational champion Conference regular season champion Conference regular season and conference tournament champion Division regular season champion Division regular season and conference tournament champion Conference tournament champion

NCAA tournament results[edit]

Year	Seed	Round	Opponent	Result
1993	#10	First Round Second Round	#7 Bowling Green #2 Virginia	W 69-67 L 55-69
1994	#4	First Round	#13 Texas A&M	L 76-78
1995	#6	First Round Second Round	#11 Radford #3 Virginia	W 89-49 L 67-72
1996	#5	First Round	#12 San Francisco	L 61-68
1997	#3	First Round Second Round Sweet Sixteen Elite Eight	#14 FIU #6 USC #2 Louisiana Tech #1 Old Dominion	W 92-68 W 92-78 W 71-57 L 51-53
1998	#3	First Round Second Round Sweet Sixteen	#14 Montana #11 Virginia Tech #2 Duke	W 85-64 W 89-57 L 58-71
1999	#11	First Round	#6 Arizona	L 84-87 (OT)
2001	#3	First Round Second Round	#14 Holy Cross #6 Washington	W 84-52 L 75-86
2002	#6	First Round	#11 BYU	L 52-90
2004	#5	First Round Second Round	#12 New Mexico #4 Baylor	W 68-56 L 76-91
2006	#6	First Round	#11 New Mexico	L 59-83
2009	#8	First Round Second Round	#9 Temple #1 Connecticut	W 70-57 L 59-87
2012	#9	First Round Second Round	#8 Ohio State #1 Baylor	W 70-65 L 57-76
2014	#11	First Round Second Round	#6 Dayton #3 Penn State	W 83-69 L 61-83
2016	#5	First Round	#12 Albany	L 59-61
2022	#10	First Round	#7 UCF	L 52-69

Player awards[edit]

National awards[edit]

Wade Trophy

DeLisha Milton – 1997

SEC Awards[edit]

Player of the Year Award

DeLisha Milton – 1997

WNBA basketball players[edit]

Florida has produced a number of players for the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA).

Vanessa Hayden – Drafted with the 7th overall pick in the 2004 WNBA Draft by the Minnesota Lynx; currently playing with the Los Angeles Sparks
Tammy Jackson – Drafted with the 16th overall pick in the 1997 WNBA Draft; played five seasons with the Houston Comets where she won four straight WNBA Titles
Merlakia Jones – Drafted with the 13th overall pick in the second round of the 1997 WNBA Draft by the now defunct Cleveland Rockers; she played a total of 8 seasons in the WNBA
Brandi McCain – Drafted by the Cleveland Rockers with the 24th overall pick in 2002
DeLisha Milton-Jones – Drafted with the 4th overall pick in the 1999 WNBA Draft by the Los Angeles Sparks; she was traded to the Washington Mystics in 2004 and traded back to the Sparks in 2007
Murriel Page – Drafted by the Los Angeles Sparks with the 3rd overall pick in the 1998 WNBA Draft; played for the Sparks for 11 seasons
Bridget Pettis – Drafted with the 7th overall pick in the 1997 WNBA Elite Draft by the Phoenix Mercury; spent five seasons with the Mercury before being traded to the Indiana Fever, where she played two seasons, in 2002; she returned to the WNBA for one final season with Phoenix in 2006
Tamara Stocks – Drafted by the Washington Mystics with the 25th overall pick in the 2001 WNBA Draft
Tiffany Travis – Drafted with the 27th overall pick by the Charlotte Sting in the 2000 WNBA Draft
Sophia Witherspoon – Drafted with the 11th overall pick by the New York Liberty in the 1997 WNBA Draft; she played for the Liberty, the Fire, and the Sparks in her seven seasons in the league

References[edit]

^ "Rent the Center – Stephen C. O'Connell Center".
^ "UF Identity Style Guide". March 1, 2016. Retrieved March 19, 2016.
^ "Belmont's Cameron Newbauer Hired to Women's Basketball Post". Florida Gators. Archived from the original on 2017-03-28. Retrieved 2017-03-28.
^ Parler, Denver (July 16, 2021). "Newbauer Steps Down as Women's Basketball Head Coach". floridagators.com. Retrieved July 17, 2021.
^ "THE HISTORY OF FLORIDA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL" (PDF). www.gatorzone.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 May 2012. Retrieved 23 April 2018.
^ "Florida fires women's hoops coach Butler". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on 2017-03-07. Retrieved 2017-03-07.
^ "Cameron Newbauer Named Gator Head Coach". FloridaGators.com. Archived from the original on 2017-10-06. Retrieved 2017-03-27.
^ "Media supplement" (PDF). University of Florida. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-03-13. Retrieved 11 Aug 2013.

External links[edit]

Official website

[1] "Rent the Center – Stephen C. O'Connell Center".

[2] "UF Identity Style Guide". March 1, 2016. Retrieved March 19, 2016.

[3] "Belmont's Cameron Newbauer Hired to Women's Basketball Post". Florida Gators. Archived from the original on 2017-03-28. Retrieved 2017-03-28.

[4] Parler, Denver (July 16, 2021). "Newbauer Steps Down as Women's Basketball Head Coach". floridagators.com. Retrieved July 17, 2021.

[5] "THE HISTORY OF FLORIDA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL" (PDF). www.gatorzone.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 May 2012. Retrieved 23 April 2018.

[6] "Florida fires women's hoops coach Butler". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on 2017-03-07. Retrieved 2017-03-07.

[7] "Cameron Newbauer Named Gator Head Coach". FloridaGators.com. Archived from the original on 2017-10-06. Retrieved 2017-03-27.

[Media_supplement-8] "Media supplement" (PDF). University of Florida. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-03-13. Retrieved 11 Aug 2013.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

v t e Florida Gators women's basketball
Arena	Florida Gymnasium (1974–1980) Stephen C. O'Connell Center (1980–present)
Players	WNBA players
NCAA tournaments	1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2001 2002 2004 2006 2009 2012 2014 2016
Conference affiliations	Southeastern Conference
Culture and lore	Albert and Alberta "The Orange and Blue" "We Are the Boys" Gatorade Gator Chomp Stephen C. O'Connell Jumpman Invitational
Seasons	1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24

v t e Southeastern Conference women's basketball
Teams	Alabama Crimson Tide Arkansas Razorbacks Auburn Tigers Florida Gators Georgia Lady Bulldogs Kentucky Wildcats LSU Tigers Ole Miss Rebels Mississippi State Bulldogs Missouri Tigers South Carolina Gamecocks Tennessee Lady Volunteers Texas A&M Aggies Vanderbilt Commodores
Future teams	Oklahoma Sooners Texas Longhorns (both joining in 2025)
Championships & awards	SEC women's basketball tournament Player of the Year
Conference challenges	Big 12/SEC Women's Challenge (2013–2023) ACC–SEC Challenge (2023–present)
Seasons	1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24