McGill and O'Neal each score 22, Florida women beat Mississippi State at SEC Tournament

Audio By Carbonatix

GREENVILLE, S.C. (AP) — Liv McGill had 22 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds, Me’Arah O’Neal also scored 22, and No. 12 seed Florida beat Mississippi State 86-68 — the Gators' largest margin of victory in an SEC Tournament game — on Wednesday in the first round.

Florida (18-14), which never trailed despite starting 5-of-16 shooting, made 28 of 56 from the field and hit 22 of 28 (79%) from the free-throw line.

No. 13 seed Mississippi State (18-13) has lost five in a row.

Favour Nwaedozi led the Bulldogs with 12 points and 10 rebounds, the 6-foot-3 junior's 15th double-double this season. Destiney McPhaul also scored 12 points and had six assists. Madison Francis fouled out with nine points in 17 minutes. The freshman went into the game leading the team in minutes (29.8 per game), scoring (13.4) and blocks (1.53), and second in rebounds (7.5) and steals (1.53).

The Bulldogs committed nine first-quarter turnovers and trailed 21-11 at the end of the period.

After Francis made a layup that trimmed Mississippi State's deficit to eight points, O'Neal hit the first of her three second-quarter 3-pointers to make it 24-13 with 8:30 remaining in the first half and the Gators led by double figures the rest of the way.

The Gators, who won 71-56 at Mississippi State on Feb. 19, have won four in a four against Mississippi State and leads the series 30-28.

Mississippi State: Awaits a potential postseason invite.

Florida: Plays seventh-ranked and No. 5 seed Oklahoma in the second round on Thursday.

___ Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP women’s college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball