Florida Gators women's basketball

Last updated
Florida Gators women's basketball
Basketball current event.svg 2025–26 Florida Gators women's basketball team
Gators women's basketball logo.jpeg
University University of Florida
Head coach Kelly Rae Finley (4th season)
Conference SEC
Location Gainesville, Florida
Arena Exactech Arena at Stephen C. O'Connell Center
(capacity: 10,136 [1] )
Nickname Florida Gators
Student section Orange and Blue Crew
ColorsOrange and blue [2]
   
Uniforms
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Home
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Away
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Alternate
NCAA tournament Elite Eight
1997
Other NCAA tournament results
Sweet Sixteen1997, 1998
Appearances1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2009, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2022
O'Connell Center, the home court of the Florida Gators women's basketball team. O-Dome.jpg
O'Connell Center, the home court of the Florida Gators women's basketball team.

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.

Contents

History

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]

On February 28, 2022, assistant coach Kelly Rae Finley was promoted to the head coach position after assuming interim head coach duties during the 2021-22 season. [8]

2024 - 2025 Roster

2024–25 Florida Gators women's basketball team
PlayersCoaches
Pos.#NameHeightYearPrevious schoolHometown
F 3Alexia Gassett6 ft 2 in(1.88 m)Jr Reynoldsburg HS
Louisville 		Reynoldsburg, OH
G/F 5Kylee Kitts6 ft 4 in(1.93 m)Fr Hagerty HS Oviedo, FL
G 6Kenza Salgues5 ft 9 in(1.75 m)Sr INSEP
Miami (FL) 		Montpellier, France
G/F 8Me'Arah O'Neal6 ft 4 in(1.93 m)Fr Episcopal HS Houston, TX
F 9Alexia Dizeko5 ft 11 in(1.8 m)SrECCG de Martigny
South Georgia Technical College 		Sion, Switzerland
G 12Daviane Mindoudi Ongbakahoumb6 ft 1 in(1.85 m)FrSegle XXI Bilbao, Spain
G 13Laila Reynolds6 ft 1 in(1.85 m)SoShabach Christian Academy Prince George's County, MD
G 20Jeriah Warren6 ft 0 in(1.83 m)Sr LaGrange HS Lake Charles, LA
F 21Eriny Kindred6 ft 0 in(1.83 m)Sr Del Valle HS
Texas A&M 		Del Valle, TX
F 22Paige Clausen6 ft 0 in(1.83 m)Sr Barron G. Collier HS Naples, FL
G 23Liv McGill5 ft 9 in(1.75 m)Fr Hopkins HS Minneapolis, MN
C 24Ra Shaya Kyle6 ft 6 in(1.98 m)Sr Marion HS
Purdue 		Marion, IN
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster

Year by year results

Conference tournament winners noted with # Source [9]

SeasonTeamOverallConferenceStandingPostseasonCoaches' pollAP poll
Paula Welch (Independent)(1974–1976)
1974–75Paula Welch 13–6–FAIAW
1975–76Paula Welch 16–8–AIAW Region III
Paula Welch:29–14–
Cathy Davis (Independent)(1976–1979)
1976–77Cathy Davis 12–10–AIAW Region III
1977–78Cathy Davis 12–14–
1978–79Cathy Davis 12–15–AIAW Region III
Cathy Davis:36–39–
Mickie DeMoss (Independent, SEC)(1979–1983)
1979–80Mickie DeMoss 10–19–AIAW Region III
1980–81Mickie DeMoss 11–17–FAIAW
1981–82Mickie DeMoss 13–16–FAIAW
1982–83Mickie DeMoss 11–161–75th East
Mickie DeMoss:45–681–7
Debbie Yow (SEC)(1983–1985)
1983–84Debbie Yow 19–92–65th East
1984–85Debbie Yow 22–94–4T–2nd EastNWIT Second Place
Debbie Yow:41–186–10
Carol Whitmire (SEC)(1985–1990)
1985–86Carol Whitmire 10–182–79th
1986–87Carol Whitmire 12–160–910th
1987–88Carol Whitmire 9–181–89th
1988–89Carol Whitmire 15–141–8T–9th
1989–90Carol Whitmire 12–101–6
Carol Whitmire:58–765–38
Lea Henry (SEC)(1990–1990)
1990Lea Henry 3–30–29th
Lea Henry:3–30–2
Carol Ross (SEC)(1990–2002)
1990–91Carol Ross 17–113–6T–8th
1991–92Carol Ross 15–134–7T–7th
1992–93Carol Ross 19–106–5T–4thNCAA Play-In
1993–94Carol Ross 22–78–33rdNCAA First Round2520
1994–95Carol Ross 24–97–4T–4thNCAA Second Round1817
1995–96Carol Ross 21–96–5T–5thNCAA First Round2216
1996–97Carol Ross 24–99–3T–3rdNCAA Elite Eight67
1997–98Carol Ross 23–910–4T–2ndNCAA Sweet Sixteen1213
1998–99Carol Ross 19–146–8T–8thNCAA First Round
1999–2000Carol Ross 21–136–8T–6thWNIT Finals
2000–01Carol Ross 24–611–3T–2ndNCAA Second Round1814
2001–02Carol Ross 18–118–6T–4thNCAA First Round24
Carol Ross:247–12184–62
Carolyn Peck (SEC)(2002–2007)
2002–03Carolyn Peck 9–191–13T–11th
2003–04Carolyn Peck 19–118–6T–4thNCAA Second Round
2004–05Carolyn Peck 14–155–98thWNIT First Round
2005–06Carolyn Peck 21–98–6T–5thNCAA First Round
2006–07Carolyn Peck 9–222–1211th
Carolyn Peck:72–7624–46
Amanda Butler (SEC)(2007–2017)
2007–08Amanda Butler 19–146–8T–7thWNIT Third Round
2008–09Amanda Butler 24–89–5T4thNCAA Second Round2322
2009–10 Amanda Butler 15–177–9T–7thWNIT Second Round
2010–11Amanda Butler 20–157–98thWNIT Third Round
2011–12Amanda Butler 20–138–88thNCAA Second Round
2012–13 Amanda Butler 22–156–10T–8thWNIT Semifinals
2013–14 Amanda Butler 20–138–85th NCAA Second round
2014–15 Amanda Butler 13–175–1112th
2015–16 Amanda Butler 22–810–6T–4thNCAA First Round
2016–17 Amanda Butler 15–165–11T–11th
Amanda Butler:190–13671–85
Cameron Newbauer (SEC)(2017–2021)
2017–18 Cameron Newbauer 11–193–13T-11th
2018–19 Cameron Newbauer 8–233–13T-12th
2019–20 Cameron Newbauer 15–156–1010th
2020–21 Cameron Newbauer 12–143–1111thWNIT Second Round
Cameron Newbauer:46–7115–47
Kelly Rae Finley (SEC)(2021–Present)
2021-22 Kelly Rae Finley 21-1110-65th NCAA First Round 2321
2022-23 Kelly Rae Finley 19–155–11T-10th
2023-24 Kelly Rae Finley 16-165-1111th WBIT First Round
2024-25 Kelly Rae Finley 19-185-1111th WBIT Semifinals
Kelly Rae Finley:75-6025-39
Total:809–690 (.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

YearSeedRoundOpponentResult
1993 #10First Round
Second Round		#7 Bowling Green
#2 Virginia		W 69-67
L 55-69
1994 #4First Round#13 Texas A&ML 76-78
1995 #6First Round
Second Round		#11 Radford
#3 Virginia		W 89-49
L 67-72
1996 #5First Round#12 San FranciscoL 61-68
1997 #3First 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 #3First Round
Second Round
Sweet Sixteen		#14 Montana
#11 Virginia Tech
#2 Duke		W 85-64
W 89-57
L 58-71
1999 #11First Round#6 ArizonaL 84-87 (OT)
2001 #3First Round
Second Round		#14 Holy Cross
#6 Washington		W 84-52
L 75-86
2002 #6First Round#11 BYUL 52-90
2004 #5First Round
Second Round		#12 New Mexico
#4 Baylor		W 68-56
L 76-91
2006 #6First Round#11 New MexicoL 59-83
2009 #8First Round
Second Round		#9 Temple
#1 Connecticut		W 70-57
L 59-87
2012 #9First Round
Second Round		#8 Ohio State
#1 Baylor		W 70-65
L 57-76
2014 #11First Round
Second Round		#6 Dayton
#3 Penn State		W 83-69
L 61-83
2016 #5First Round#12 AlbanyL 59-61
2022 #10First Round#7 UCFL 52-69

Player awards

National awards

DeLisha Milton – 1997

SEC Awards

DeLisha Milton – 1997

WNBA basketball players

DeLisha Milton-Jones DeLisha Milton-Jones-2007-All-Star-July-15-2007.jpg
DeLisha Milton-Jones

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

See also

References

  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.
  8. ↑ Abolverdi, Zach (2022-02-28). "Kelly Rae Finley named permanent head coach of Gators women's hoops". On3. Retrieved 2025-06-14.
  9. ↑ "Media supplement" (PDF). University of Florida. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-03-13. Retrieved 11 Aug 2013.
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