# 2021–22 Florida Gators women's basketball team

The 2021–22 Florida Gators women's basketball team represented the University of Florida during the 2021–22 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Gators, led by first-year head coach Kelly Rae Finley, played their home games at the O'Connell Center and competed as members of the Southeastern Conference (SEC).

## Previous season

The Gators finished the season 12–14 (3–11 SEC) to finish in twelfth place in the conference. The Gators were invited to the 2021 Women's National Invitation Tournament, where they defeated Charlotte in the first round before being eliminated by Villanova in the second round. Head coach Cameron Newbauer resigned in July 2021. Allegations of abuse from former players surfaced in September.

## Offseason
### Departures

Florida departures :
| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Year | Hometown | Notes |
| Emily Sullivan | 2 | F | 6'4" | RS Senior | Evansville, IN | Transferred to Long Beach State |
| Danielle Rainey | 10 | G | 5'10" | RS Senior | Washington, D.C. | Transferred to Eastern Michigan |
| Cydnee Kinslow | 32 | F | 6'2" | RS Senior | Oakley, CA | Graduated |

### 2021 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight |
| Taliyah Wyche F | Fort Lauderdale, FL | American Heritage School | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | N/A |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN: ESPN grade: 90 ||||||
| Tatyana Wyche F | Fort Lauderdale, FL | American Heritage School | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | N/A |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN: ESPN grade: 89 ||||||
| Alberte Rimdal G | Køge, Denmark | Marselisborg Gymnasium | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) | N/A |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ||||||
| Jeriah Warren G | Lake Charles, LA | LaGrange HS | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | N/A |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: ||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: ||||||

### Incoming transfer

Florida incoming transfer :
| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Year | Hometown | Previous school |
| Zippy Broughton | 4 | G | 5'7" | Senior | Wetumpka, AL | Rutgers |

## Schedule

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition |||||||||
| November 5, 2021* 6:00 pm, SECN+ | | Flagler | W 101–56 | | 19 – Rimdal | 9 – Briggs | 6 – Smith | O'Connell Center Gainesville, FL |
| Non-conference regular season |||||||||
| November 9, 2021* 5:00 pm, SECN+ | | Georgia State | W 84–70 | 1–0 | 23 – Smith | 7 – Briggs | 4 – Smith | O'Connell Center (639) Gainesville, FL |
| November 12, 2021* 4:30 pm, YouTube | | vs. Towson Preseason WNIT Classic | L 70–87 | 1–1 | 18 – Merritt | 11 – Merritt | 4 – Tied | Reynolds Coliseum (200) Raleigh, NC |
| November 14, 2021* 2:00 pm, ACCNX | | at No. 5 NC State Preseason WNIT Classic | L 52–85 | 1–2 | 16 – Smith | 9 – Briggs | 3 – Rickards | Reynolds Coliseum (3,812) Raleigh, NC |
| November 15, 2021* 4:30 pm, YouTube | | vs. Wofford Preseason WNIT Classic | W 61–47 | 2–2 | 13 – Smith | 7 – Smith | 2 – Tied | Reynolds Coliseum (120) Raleigh, NC |
| November 19, 2021* 6:00 pm, SECN+ | | Grambling State | W 70–55 | 3–2 | 17 – Farrell | 6 – Tied | 9 – Smith | O'Connell Center (759) Gainesville, FL |
| November 22, 2021* 6:00 pm, SECN+ | | USC Upstate | W 76–54 | 4–2 | 16 – Briggs | 6 – de Oliveira | 4 – Briggs | O'Connell Center (764) Gainesville, FL |
| November 26, 2021* 7:00 pm | | vs. Saint Louis San Juan Shootout | W 69–54 | 5–2 | 13 – Merritt | 7 – Rickards | 4 – Rimdal | Roberto Clemente Coliseum (200) San Juan, Puerto Rico |
| November 27, 2021* 7:00 pm | | vs. George Washington San Juan Shootout | W 61–50 | 6–2 | 18 – Briggs | 7 – Briggs | 4 – Briggs | Roberto Clemente Coliseum (200) San Juan, Puerto Rico |
| December 1, 2021* 7:00 pm | | at George Mason | L 71–75 | 6–3 | 19 – Smith | 12 – Briggs | 6 – Smith | EagleBank Arena (769) Fairfax, VA |
| December 5, 2021* 2:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at TCU Big 12/SEC Challenge | W 63–54 | 7–3 | 22 – Briggs | 10 – Smith | 7 – Smith | Schollmaier Arena (1,468) Fort Worth, TX |
| December 8, 2021* 2:00 pm, SECN+ | | Dayton | W 60–57 | 8–3 | 18 – Briggs | 9 – Smith | 7 – Smith | O'Connell Center (691) Gainesville, FL |
| December 12, 2021* 1:00 pm, SECN | | Florida State | W 69–55 | 9–3 | 16 – de Oliveira | 8 – Rickards | 4 – Briggs | O'Connell Center (1,609) Gainesville, FL |
| December 21, 2021* 1:00 pm, SECN+ | | Murray State | W 67–51 | 10–3 | 12 – Briggs | 7 – Rickards | 3 – Tied | O'Connell Center (921) Gainesville, FL |
| SEC regular season |||||||||
| January 2, 2022 3:00 pm, SECN | | No. 13 Georgia | L 69–73 | 10–4 (0–1) | 18 – Merritt | 8 – Smith | 5 – Smith | O'Connell Center (1,119) Gainesville, FL |
| January 6, 2022 6:00 pm, SECN+ | | Ole Miss | L 56–74 | 10–5 (0–2) | 13 – Smith | 10 – Merritt | 5 – Smith | O'Connell Center (854) Gainesville, FL |
| January 9, 2022 3:00 pm, SECN+ | | at No. 25 Texas A&M | W 97–89 $^{2OT}$ | 11–5 (1–2) | 28 – Broughton | 9 – Smith | 7 – Smith | Reed Arena (3,493) College Station, TX |
| January 13, 2022 6:00 pm, SECN+ | | Auburn | W 68–63 | 12–5 (2–2) | 19 – Smith | 5 – Tied | 3 – Smith | O'Connell Center (801) Gainesville, FL |
| January 16, 2022 3:00 pm, SECN+ | | at Alabama | W 85–77 | 13–5 (3–2) | 17 – Rimdal | 6 – Tied | 6 – Smith | Coleman Coliseum (2,001) Tuscaloosa, AL |
| January 20, 2022 7:00 pm, SECN | | at No. 23 Kentucky | W 77–52 | 14–5 (4–2) | 25 – Smith | 8 – Tied | 6 – Smith | Memorial Coliseum (3,372) Lexington, KY |
| January 23, 2022 2:00 pm, SECN+ | | No. 11 LSU | W 73–72 | 15–5 (5–2) | 23 – Smith | 7 – Merritt | 8 – Smith | O'Connell Center (1,478) Gainesville, FL |
| January 30, 2022 12:00 pm, SECN | | No. 1 South Carolina | L 50–62 | 15–6 (5–3) | 22 – Smith | 7 – Merritt | 2 – Smith | O'Connell Center (5,319) Gainesville, FL |
| February 3, 2022 6:00 pm, SECN+ | | No. 7 Tennessee | W 84–59 | 16–6 (6–3) | 25 – Smith | 8 – Rickards | 6 – Broughton | O'Connell Center (3,809) Gainesville, FL |
| February 6, 2022 1:00 pm, SECN | | at No. 14 Georgia | W 54–51 | 17–6 (7–3) | 11 – Tied | 9 – Tied | 3 – Broughton | Stegeman Coliseum (3,653) Athens, GA |
| February 10, 2022 6:30 pm, SECN+ | No. 19 | at Mississippi State Rescheduled from December 30 | W 73–64 | 18–6 (8–3) | 20 – Broughton | 9 – Smith | 7 – Smith | Humphrey Coliseum (4,630) Starkville, MS |
| February 14, 2022 7:00 pm, SECN | No. 17 | at Auburn | W 83–77 | 19–6 (9–3) | 18 – Broughton | 6 – Broughton | 3 – de Oliveira | Auburn Arena (1,996) Auburn, AL |
| February 17, 2022 6:00 pm, SECN+ | No. 17 | Arkansas | W 76–67 | 20–6 (10–3) | 19 – Smith | 8 – de Oliveira | 5 – Smith | O'Connell Center (1,369) Gainesville, FL |
| February 20, 2022 4:00 pm, SECN | No. 17 | at No. 11 LSU | L 61–66 | 20–7 (10–4) | 17 – Rickards | 9 – Rickards | 6 – Smith | Pete Maravich Assembly Center (13,620) Baton Rouge, LA |
| February 24, 2022 6:30 pm, SECN | No. 15 | at Vanderbilt | L 59–63 | 20–8 (10–5) | 18 – Smith | 7 – Smith | 6 – Smith | Memorial Gymnasium (1,783) Nashville, TN |
| February 27, 2022 12:00 pm, SECN | No. 15 | Missouri | L 73–78 | 20–9 (10–6) | 23 – Merritt | 7 – Merritt | 6 – Smith | O'Connell Center (2,119) Gainesville, FL |
| SEC Tournament |||||||||
| March 3, 2022 3:30 pm, SECN | (5) No. 23 | vs. (13) Vanderbilt Second round | W 53–52 | 21–9 | 15 – Rickards | 8 – Rickards | 5 – Smith | Bridgestone Arena (6,446) Nashville, TN |
| March 4, 2022 3:30 pm, SECN | (5) No. 23 | vs. (4) Ole Miss Quarterfinals | L 60–70 | 21–10 | 26 – Broughton | 8 – Rickards | 5 – Rickards | Bridgestone Arena Nashville, TN |
| NCAA tournament |||||||||
| March 19, 2022 3:30 pm, ESPNews | (10 B) | vs. (7 B) No. 24 UCF First Round | L 52–69 | 21–11 | 17 – Rickards | 8 – Broughton | 6 – Broughton | Harry A. Gampel Pavilion (5,073) Storrs, CT |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time. |||||||||