Florida women's basketball opened up the 2026-27 campaign with an 83-60 win over the Bucknell Bison on Monday night inside the O'Connell Center to kick off the Tammi Reiss era on a high note.
The 23-point win marked the eighth straight season-opening win for the Lady Gators.
The Orange and Blue was led by standout efforts from Kiyomi McMiller and Vanessa Harris, who scored 31 and 26 points, respectively. McMiller's 31 points were the third-most in a season opener, as were her 14 field goals made, while Harris' 26 points set a new career high, besting her previous high mark of 19.
Aurora Almón led all Gators with a career-high 10 rebounds, while Jordan Jones, Harris and McMiller each added six boards. The Gators shot an efficient 54.8% from the
field, marking the highest field goal percentage in season-opener history.Florida led 12-9 with 4:39 on the clock in the first, but scored 13 of the next 15 points and led at the break by 13. Harris had 11 points in the period and connected on both of her 3-point field goal attempts, while McMiller added eight. The Gators went 11-for-19 from the field and made six of their final seven shots of the quarter to lead 27-14 after the first.
Harris picked up right where she left off in the second period, hitting another shot from behind the arc for her third triple of the night. Bucknell found a spark of offense in an 11-0 run during the latter half of the second quarter as Florida went more than five minutes without scoring. McMiller ended the drought on the last possession of the half to put the Gators on top 42-25 heading into the locker room.
Slowly but surely, the Gators extended their lead over the final two quarters — an and-one play from McMiller put the Gators ahead 62-42 at the end of the third, and in the fourth, Florida shot 76.9% from the floor.
The Lady Gators return to action Thursday, Nov. 5, against UCF at 4:30 p.m. ET inside the O'Dome, kicking off a doubleheader night in the Gators' home arena. Florida men's basketball follows with its home opener at 8 p.m. ET against Jacksonville.
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This article originally appeared on Gators Wire: Lady Gators prevail over Bucknell for 8th-straight season-opening win
