COLUMBIA — South Carolina women’s basketball looks to start a new winning streak with a game against Florida.
The No. 4 Gamecocks (22-2, 10-1 SEC) host the Gators (12-12, 3-7) on Thursday (7 p.m., SEC Network), their first game since losing to Texas on Sunday, 66-62.
Florida is coming off a loss to Alabama on Thursday and had an open date Sunday, giving it a week to prepare for its trip to Columbia.
South Carolina is 24-20 all time against the Gators and has won the past 16 games in the series. The last time coach Dawn Staley fell to Florida was on Jan. 9, 2011.
Here’s what to know about Florida ahead of Thursday’s game:
Liv McGill leads Florida, one of SEC’s top scorers
Freshman guard Liv McGill has been a star for the Gators. She’s averaging a team-high 16.4 points per game to go with 4.5 rebounds and 5.4 assists. Her scoring average ranks No. 13 in the conference.
McGill had 22 points, six rebounds and six assists in the loss to Alabama, and was 2-of-6 on 3-pointers. Overall, she’s shooting 34.3% from behind the arc.
Raven Johnson or Bree Hall, whoever is tasked with guarding her, will have to be aware that a lot of Florida’s offense runs through McGill.
As a team, Florida is third in the SEC in field goal percentage, averaging 47% this season. South Carolina is slightly below with 46.7%.
South Carolina faces another tall opponent for second straight game
The Gamecocks’ forwards in Sania Feagin, Chloe Kitts and Joyce Edwards really struggled against Texas’ height on Sunday.
On Thursday, they face 6-foot-6 center Ra Shaya Kyle, who is averaging 15 points and 9.3 rebounds per game. She’s coming off a 15-point performance in which she had seven rebounds.
She’s had 12 double-doubles this season and is No. 4 in the SEC in rebounds per game.
Joyce Edwards still leads South Carolina despite quiet two games
South Carolina’s 57-game SEC regular-season win streak was snapped Sunday, as was a personal streak for freshman Joyce Edwards. She’s still averaging a team-high 12.3 points per game, but after eight consecutive games in double digits, she has scored six and nine points in the past two games, respectively.
Her last double-digit game was on Feb. 2, when she had 18 points against Auburn.
South Carolina vs Florida injury updates
The SEC injury report will be released Wednesday night, but as of Sunday’s game, Ashlyn Watkins was out for South Carolina. There was no report for Florida, which didn’t play Sunday.
SEC TOURNAMENT: How South Carolina, Dawn Staley’s loss to Texas impacts SEC race, tournament seeding
South Carolina score prediction vs Florida
South Carolina 90, Florida 59: Te-Hina Paopao said it’s going to be scary for the next six opponents after the loss on Sunday, and that starts with a win over Florida.
Lulu Kesin covers South Carolina athletics for The Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. Email her at lkesin@gannett.com and follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, @Lulukesin
This article originally appeared on Greenville News: South Carolina women’s basketball vs Florida score prediction, news
