The Florida Gators women's basketball team represents the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

in the sport of

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

. The Gators compete in Division I of the

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

(NCAA) and the

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities of ...

(SEC). The Gators play their home games at the

O'Connell Center The Stephen C. O'Connell Center, also known as the O'Dome, is a 10,500-seat multi-purpose arena located on the University of Florida campus in Gainesville, Florida. The facility is named for the sixth president of the university, Stephen C. O' ...

located on the university's

Gainesville, Florida Gainesville is the county seat of Alachua County, Florida, Alachua County, Florida, and the largest city in North Central Florida, with a population of 141,085 in 2020. It is the principal city of the Gainesville metropolitan area, Florida, Gaine ...

campus, and are currently led by head coach Kelly Rae Finley, following the resignation of Cameron Newbauer. The Gators have appeared in 15 NCAA tournaments, with a record of 12-15.

History

Women's basketball was approved as a sport by 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. 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 DeLisha Lachell Milton-Jones (born September 11, 1974) is an American retired professional basketball player and head coach of Old Dominion. Milton-Jones played college basketball for the University of Florida. She was a first-team All-American a ...

. 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 Carolyn Arlene Peck (born January 22, 1966) is an American television sportscaster and former college basketball coach. She was the head coach for the women's basketball teams of Purdue University and the University of Florida, and also the first ...

, a former WNBA coach who won a national title with

Purdue Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and money ...

, 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 Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont (United States), Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Meckl ...

coach

Amanda Butler Amanda Kay Butler (born March 6, 1972) is an American college basketball coach and former player. In 2018, Butler was hired as the head coach of the Clemson Tigers women's basketball team. Prior to that, she was the head coach for the Florida Gat ...

was named the new women's basketball coach on April 13, 2007, and remained in that position until 2017. On March 27, 2017, Cameron Newbauer was announced as the 10th head coach of the University of Florida women's basketball program.

2021 - 2022 Roster

Year by year results

Conference tournament winners noted with # Source

NCAA tournament results

Player awards

National awards

Wade Trophy The Wade Trophy is an award presented annually to the best upperclass women's basketball player in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I competition. It is named after three–time national champion Delta State University coac ...

DeLisha Milton DeLisha Lachell Milton-Jones (born September 11, 1974) is an American retired professional basketball player and head coach of Old Dominion. Milton-Jones played college basketball for the University of Florida. She was a first-team All-American a ...

– 1997

SEC Awards

Player of the Year Award Several sports leagues honour their best player with an award called Player of the Year (POY) . In the United States, this type of award is usually called a Most Valuable Player award. Association football In association football, this award is h ...

– 1997

WNBA basketball players

Florida has produced a number of players for the

Women's National Basketball Association The Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) is an American professional basketball league. It is composed of twelve teams, all based in the United States. The league was founded on April 22, 1996, as the women's counterpart to the Natio ...

(WNBA). *

Vanessa Hayden Vanessa L'asonya Hayden-Johnson (born June 5, 1982), née Vanessa L'asonya Hayden, is an American former college and professional basketball player who was a center in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) for five seasons in the 2000 ...

– Drafted with the 7th overall pick in the 2004 WNBA Draft by the Minnesota Lynx; currently playing with the

Los Angeles Sparks The Los Angeles Sparks (LA Sparks) are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Sparks compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The team was foun ...

Tammy Jackson Tammy Eloise Jackson (born December 3, 1962) is an American former college and professional basketball player who was a center in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) for six seasons in the 1990s and early 2000s. Jackson played coll ...

– Drafted with the 16th overall pick in the 1997 WNBA Draft; played five seasons with the

Houston Comets The Houston Comets were a Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) team based in Houston. Formed in 1997, the team was one of the original eight WNBA teams and won the first four championships of the league's existence. They are one of two ...

where she won four straight WNBA Titles *

Merlakia Jones Merlakia Jones (born June 21, 1973) is a former American college and professional basketball player who was a guard in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) for eight seasons during the 1990s and 2000s. Jones played college basketb ...

– Drafted with the 13th overall pick in the second round of the 1997 WNBA Draft by the now defunct

Cleveland Rockers The Cleveland Rockers were a Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) team based in Cleveland, that played from 1997 until 2003. The Rockers were one of the original eight franchises of the WNBA, which started in 1997. The owner was Gordon Gu ...

; she played a total of 8 seasons in the WNBA *

Brandi McCain Brandi McCain (born September 21, 1979) is a former American college and professional basketball player who was a guard in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) for a single season in 2002. McCain played college basketball for the U ...

– Drafted by the

with the 24th overall pick in 2002 *

– Drafted with the 4th overall pick in the 1999 WNBA Draft by the

; she was traded to the

Washington Mystics The Washington Mystics are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Mystics compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member club of the league's Eastern Conference. The team was founded pri ...

in 2004 and traded back to the Sparks in 2007 *

Murriel Page LaMurriel Page (born September 18, 1975) is a former American college and professional basketball player who was a forward and center in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) for eleven seasons. Page played college basketball for th ...

– Drafted by the

with the 3rd overall pick in the 1998 WNBA Draft; played for the Sparks for 11 seasons *

Bridget Pettis Bridget Pettis (born January 1, 1971) was an Assistant Coach of the Chicago Sky Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) professional basketball team. She is an American former college and professional basketball player who was a guard in ...

– Drafted with the 7th overall pick in the 1997 WNBA Elite Draft by the

Phoenix Mercury The Phoenix Mercury are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona, playing in the Western Conference (WNBA), Western Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The team was founded before the league ...

; spent five seasons with the Mercury before being traded to the

Indiana Fever The Indiana Fever are an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis, playing in the Eastern Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The team was founded before the 2000 season began. The team is owned ...

, where she played two seasons, in 2002; she returned to the WNBA for one final season with Phoenix in 2006 *

Tamara Stocks Tamara Stocks Lee (born January 29, 1979), née Tamara Stocks, is an American former college and professional basketball player who was a forward and center in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) for a single season in 2001. Stoc ...

– Drafted by the

with the 25th overall pick in the 2001 WNBA Draft * Tiffany Travis – Drafted with the 27th overall pick by the

Charlotte Sting The Charlotte Sting were a Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) team based in Charlotte, North Carolina, one of the league's eight original teams. The team folded on January 3, 2007. The Sting was originally the sister organization of ...

in the 2000 WNBA Draft *

Sophia Witherspoon Sophia L. Witherspoon (born July 6, 1969) is a former American college and professional basketball player who was a guard for seven seasons in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). Witherspoon played college basketball for the Unive ...

– Drafted with the 11th overall pick by the

New York Liberty The New York Liberty are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The Liberty compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as part of the league's Eastern Conference. The team was f ...

in the 1997 WNBA Draft; she played for the Liberty, the

Fire Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material (the fuel) in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction Product (chemistry), products. At a certain point in the combustion reaction, called the ignition ...

, and the Sparks in her seven seasons in the league

References

External links

* {{Southeastern Conference women's basketball navbox Basketball teams established in 1974 1974 establishments in Florida

History

2021 - 2022 Roster

Year by year results

NCAA tournament results

Player awards

National awards

SEC Awards

WNBA basketball players

See also

References

External links