Florida Gators women's basketball

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.

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.

On March 27, 2017, Cameron Newbauer was announced as the 10th head coach of the University of Florida women's basketball program.

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.

2024 - 2025 Roster

• Kelly Rae Finley ()
• Daniel Boice (Dordt)
• Susie Gardner ()
• Rhyne Howard ()
• Cynthia Jordan ()
• Jackie Moore ()

Year by year results

Conference tournament winners noted with # Source

NCAA tournament results

Player awards

National awards

• Wade Trophy :DeLisha Milton – 1997

SEC Awards

• Player of the Year Award :DeLisha Milton – 1997

WNBA basketball players

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

• Vanessa Hayden – Drafted with the 7th overall pick in the 2004 WNBA Draft by the Minnesota Lynx; retired in 2009 with the Los Angeles Sparks
• Tammy Jackson – Drafted with the 16th overall pick in the 1997 WNBA Draft; played five seasons with the Houston Comets where she won four straight WNBA Titles
• Merlakia Jones – Drafted with the 13th overall pick in the second round of the 1997 WNBA Draft by the now defunct Cleveland Rockers; she played a total of 8 seasons in the WNBA
• Brandi McCain – Drafted by the Cleveland Rockers with the 24th overall pick in 2002
• DeLisha Milton-Jones – Drafted with the 4th overall pick in the 1999 WNBA Draft by the Los Angeles Sparks; she was traded to the Washington Mystics in 2004 and traded back to the Sparks in 2007
• Murriel Page – Drafted by the Los Angeles Sparks with the 3rd overall pick in the 1998 WNBA Draft; played for the Sparks for 11 seasons
• Bridget Pettis – Drafted with the 7th overall pick in the 1997 WNBA Elite Draft by the Phoenix Mercury; spent five seasons with the Mercury before being traded to the Indiana Fever, where she played two seasons, in 2002; she returned to the WNBA for one final season with Phoenix in 2006
• Tamara Stocks – Drafted by the Washington Mystics with the 25th overall pick in the 2001 WNBA Draft
• Tiffany Travis – Drafted with the 27th overall pick by the Charlotte Sting in the 2000 WNBA Draft
• Sophia Witherspoon – Drafted with the 11th overall pick by the New York Liberty in the 1997 WNBA Draft; she played for the Liberty, the Fire, and the Sparks in her seven seasons in the league

References

References

1. "Rent the Center – Stephen C. O'Connell Center".
2. "Belmont's Cameron Newbauer Hired to Women's Basketball Post".
3. Parler, Denver. (July 16, 2021). "Newbauer Steps Down as Women's Basketball Head Coach".
4. "THE HISTORY OF FLORIDA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL".
5. "Florida fires women's hoops coach Butler". ESPN.com.
6. "Cameron Newbauer Named Gator Head Coach". FloridaGators.com.
7. Abolverdi, Zach. (2022-02-28). "Kelly Rae Finley named permanent head coach of Gators women's hoops".
8. "Media supplement". University of Florida.