Ranked No. 4 this week in the Associated Press poll, Texas women’s basketball is back in action.
Texas (19-2, 4-2) will travel to Florida (13-9, 1-6) on Thursday evening. This will be UT’s first game since Jan. 18.
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Will tonight’s game be close? Texas has outscored its SEC opponents by a 463-344 margin while Florida has been outscored in SEC play by 56 points. History, though, suggests a different outcome. Florida owns a 3-2 lead in this all-time series, and the first three games between the Gators and Longhorns — which were all played between 1995-96 — were decided in overtime.
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Stay tuned for live updates.
Texas Longhorns guard Bryanna Preston (1) looks for a way through defense from Florida Gators defense in the first half of the Texas Longhorns’ game against the Florida Gators, March 2, 2025 at the Moody Center in Austin.
Sara Diggins/American-Statesman
Texas vs. Florida: Live updates, highlights
4th (5:43): Texas 78, Florida 55
A 9-0 run over the past one minute and 42 seconds has Texas closing in on its 20th win of the season. Madison Booker is leading all scorers with her 24 points tonight, and Texas has turned 19 Florida turnovers into 25 points while outscoring the Gators by a 52-20 margin in the paint.
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End 3: Texas 67. Florida 53
Coming off a 1-for-18 performance against Texas A&M, UT missed its first five 3-point attempts tonight. But in the third quarter, Aaliyah Crump provided Texas with a sign of life from behind the 3-point line. The freshman made two 3-pointers.
Crump is one of eight Texas players that has scored tonight. That scoring summary has been led by Madison Booker’s 20 points.
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Florida has been led by the 17 points scored by Me’Arah O’Neal, a sophomore forward who was held to one point in the third quarter. Florida hit five of its seven shots in the third quarter, and an 11-for-14 performance at the free-throw line has kept the Gators in this game.
3rd (4:56): Texas 52, Florida 38
Texas has kept its distance over the opening minutes of the second half. While expanding its lead from 11 to 14 points – with senior center Kyla Oldacre set to shoot a free throw after this media timeout – Texas has forced five Florida turnovers.
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Texas point guard Rori Harmon has contributed six points, four assists and two steals while helping limit Florida guard Liv McGill, who entered this game as the SEC’s second-leading scorer, to seven points and seven turnovers. Harmon is celebrating her 23rd birthday today.
Texas begins second half with Madison Booker
Texas fans can exhale. All-American forward Madison Booker appeared to suffered an injury during an on-court collision in the first half’s final seconds. Booker, though, returned to the court to start the second half. With 14 points, Booker led the Longhorns in scoring over the first two quarters.
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Halftime: Texas 42, Florida 31
Fourteen points from All-American forward Madison Booker had led the Longhorns into halftime with a double-digit lead. Booker shot 6-for-12 from the field in the first half, and she scored eight of her points in the second quarter.
The first half featured contrasting offensive styles by Texas and Florida. The Longhorns outscored UF by a 34-10 margin in the paint. A Florida team that was led by Me’Arah O’Neal’s 16 points attempted 13 3-pointers, and the Gators made five of those deep shots.
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One thing for Texas fans to keep an eye on is the health of Booker, who collided with Florida star Liv McGill in the first half’s final seconds. According to the SEC Network+ broadcast, Booker had to be helped to the UT locker room by a teammate.
2nd (6:52): Texas 26, Florida 21
After coming off the bench at the end of the first quarter, Ashton Judd has provided Texas with a second-session spark. The Missouri transfer has knocked down both of her shots in the second quarter for Texas, which has also gotten a 2-for-2 shooting performance in this quarter from sophomore guard Jordan Lee.
More: What makes Rori Harmon a great point guard? We asked her Texas teammates
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Texas senior Rori Harmon has recorded two assists and a steal in this quarter. Harmon is already UT’s all-time leader in assists, and she is now within five steals of Linda Waggoner’s school record of 346.
End 1: Florida 19, Texas 16
Texas led by as many as eight points in the first quarter, but a buzzer-beating 3-pointer by Me’Arah O’Neal helped the Gators close out the frame on an 11-0 run. O’Neal is leading Florida with her 11 points, two blocks and two steals. The SEC’s second-leading scorer, Florida guard Liv McGill was limited to three points over the first 10 points.
More: Longhorns head to Florida after extended hiatus
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After not playing since Jan. 18, Texas showed several signs of rust in the starting session. The Longhorns shot 7-for-16 from the field and missed two free throws while also committing seven turnovers. Madison Booker has scored a team-high six points.
1st (4:43): Texas 8, Florida 6
Two early 3-pointers helped Florida claim a 6-2 lead, but a 6-0 run has given Texas control of the scoreboard. Four different Longhorns have scored so far.
The daughter of NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal, sophomore forward Me’Arah O’Neal is responsible for three of Florida’s points and a steal. During the 2024 recruiting cycle, ESPN rated O’Neal as the fourth-best prospect in the state of Texas. Topping that list of Lone Star prospects was UT sophomore Justice Carlton, who has scored two points tonight.
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Texas Longhorns starting lineup
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Florida Gators starting lineup
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Texas basketball vs Florida time, TV info
When: 6 p.m. CT, Thursday
Where: Exactch Arena in Gainesville, Fla.
TV/radio: SEC Network+, 1300 AM
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The Texas Longhorns bench celebrates a score and drawn foul by guard Ashton Judd (21) during the game against Ole Miss at the Moody Center on Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026 in Austin.
Aaron E. Martinez/Austin American-Statesman
Texas Longhorns basketball results
Nov. 3: Texas 123, Incarnate Word 51
Nov. 7: Texas 85, Richmond 56
Nov. 10: Texas 100, Louisiana 38
Nov. 16: Texas 111, Texas Southern 45
Nov. 19: Texas 95, James Madison 56
Nov. 26: Texas 76, UCLA 65
Nov. 27: Texas 66, South Carolina 64
Nov. 30: Texas 81, Penn 63
Dec. 4: Texas 79, North Carolina 64
Dec. 7: Texas 101, Prairie View A&M 42
Dec. 10: Texas 110, UTRGV 45
Dec. 14: Texas 89, Baylor 54
Dec. 17: Texas 96, Northwestern State 38
Dec. 22: Texas 70, South Dakota State 51
Dec. 28: Texas 120, Southeastern Louisiana 38
Jan. 1: Texas 89, Missouri 71
Jan. 4: Texas 67, Ole Miss 64
Jan. 8:Texas 97, Auburn 36
Jan. 11: LSU 70, Texas 65
Jan. 15: South Carolina 68, Texas 65
Jan. 18: Texas 80, Texas A&M 35