At the bottom of the SEC bracket, there is no room for error. When Florida faced Mississippi State, the stakes stretched beyond one night in March. Win, and the postseason door stays open. Lose, and the season likely comes to an end.

With identical conference records and little separating them in the standings, the SEC Tournament opener carried clear urgency for both sides.

But, the Bulldogs couldn’t get out of the doghouse after allowing two 6-0 runs from the Gators in the opening 10 minutes of the game. That double-digit deficit haunted Mississippi State the rest of the game.

No. 12-seed Florida (18-14, 6-11 SEC) commanded an 86-68 win over No. 13-seed Mississippi State (18-14, 5-12 SEC) on Wednesday at Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, South Carolina. 

After the rough start, it didn’t get any better for the Bulldogs. The Gators kept their momentum going, leading by as much as 18 points in the third quarter. They then finished the frame up 26.

After pushing their lead to a maximum of 29 points over the Bulldogs with almost six minutes left in the fourth quarter, Mississippi State had had enough of getting pushed around. The Bulldogs cut their deficit back to 18 points, but it was far too late.

When the final buzzer sounded, it was the Gators who delivered the statement they desperately needed.

Florida’s 3-ball was falling, and sophomore forward Me’Arah O’Neal was the main perpetrator. She made three triples in the second quarter and one in the third. 

Inside the paint, she was a force too, battling down low for bully-ball points. She ended the night with 22 points and four rebounds.

Also ending the night with 22 points and seven rebounds was sophomore guard Liv McGill.  Earlier in the day, the guard had been named to the All-SEC First Team. 

Although McGill didn’t make any of her three attempts from downtown, she improved from the free-throw line, making seven of her 11 attempts. In past match-ups, like Florida’s contest against Alabama Feb. 22, over a week ago, McGill shot five for 13 from the line. 

The Bulldogs couldn’t sustain momentum throughout the contest, as two of Mississippi State’s starters sat early in the third quarter due to foul trouble. Freshman forward Madison Francis fouled out of the game completely, and junior forward Favour Nwaedozi had committed four fouls.

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Nwaedozi, along with Mississippi State redshirt senior guard Destiney McPhaul, both tallied 12 points in the game. 

Florida also reaped the trials of this physical SEC tournament opening match. Junior center Gift Ezekiel fouled out of the game in the fourth quarter, while junior guard Leyla Reynolds and graduate student guard Alexia Dizeko both ended the night having committed four fouls. 

With hope still shining for the Gators, they will move on to compete against No. 5-seed Oklahoma at 1:30 p.m. Friday in Greenville, South Carolina. The last time these two teams met in the regular season Feb. 12, the Gators lost 81-74.

Contact Coral Uzgiden at cuzgiden@alligator.org. Follow her on X @coraluzgiden.

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Coral Uzgiden

Coral is a sophomore Sports Journalism student in her first semester with the Alligator covering Lacrosse. She also has experience writing for WRUF and covering beats such as high school football and Gators swim and dive. She is an intern for the Women of the Lowcountry and in her free time enjoys playing waterpolo, going to the gym and being outside.

Isis Snow

Isis is a senior sports journalism student who is in her fourth semester at The Alligator. She previously has written for the Avenue desk and has covered the Florida volleyball beat. She also has experience in live broadcast reporting with WUFT. Despite hailing from Las Vegas, Nevada, she is a life-long Michigan and Detroit Lions fan. To make up for the emotional toll of being a fan of those teams, you will often find her in the gym weight lifting and playing basketball.Â