Some had asked for more background on our Lady Gators so here's our first spotlight: Aliyah Matharu. I decided to go in numerical order. Overview The 2023-24 season will be her first season playing for the Gators Played two seasons at Mississippi State and one season at Texas Led Texas in three pointers during the 2021-22 season Currently holds a career high of 27 points 2022-23, Senior Season Did not play due to transfer rules 2021-22, Junior Season (Texas) Appeared in all 36 contests and made 11 starts while logging 22.1 minutes per game Named Honorable Mention All-Big 12 Paced the team offensively averaging 12 points per game Led the team in three-pointers made with 77 Ranked No. 2 in the Big 12 and No. 16 nationally shooting at a 42.1 percent mark from behind the arc Ranked second on the team and No. 4 in the league with 65 steals Recorded a team best 22 double-digit scoring efforts to go along with four 20-plus point performances Registered a career-high 27 points at Tennessee [Nov. 21] Posted 26 points on 10-of-17 shooting including a 5-of-9 mark from three-point range at Texas A&M [Dec. 5] Swiped a career-high seven steals vs San Diego [Dec. 19] Tallied 26 points vs West Virginia [Jan. 15] Recorded 15 points and shot 5-of-7 from three-point range in UT’s Big 12 Championship quarterfinal victory over Kansas State [March. 11] Named to the Academic All-Big 12 Team 2020-21, Sophomore Season (Mississippi State) Averaged 10.2 points, 3.5 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.4 steals per game Ranked third on the team in scoring and was second in 3-pointers (26) Led the team in free throw percentage (.763) Matched her season high in points with 19 at LSU (Feb. 25) Recorded 15 points, six rebounds and three assists in win vs. Auburn (Feb. 23) Posted a season-high 19 points behind three 3-pointers and a career-high four assists against No. 13 Kentucky (Jan. 3) Tallied 16 points, five rebounds, three assists and three steals in win over Troy (Dec. 14) Dropped 17 points behind 8-of-9 shooting from the charity stripe at South Florida (Dec. 5) 2019-20, Freshman Season (Mississippi State) Two-time SEC Freshman of the Week selection Ranked second on the team in threes made with 33 Posted 11 double-digit scoring efforts on the season, including six games with 15 or more points Named SEC Freshman of the Week after posting back-to-back career games against Arkansas and Ole Miss, averaging 21.0 points, 5.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.0 steal per game At Ole Miss (March 1), she recorded a career-high 24 points on 8-of-12 shooting and knocked down a career-best five 3-pointers to go along with four rebounds, two steals and an assist Earned her first career start against Arkansas (Feb. 27), finishing with 18 points behind four 3-pointers to go along with career highs in rebounds (7) and assists (4) Prep Named the 2019 espnW HoopGurlz Stock-Riser of the Year after averaging 17.7 points and 3.5 steals per game as a senior Rated as a five-star recruit by espnW HoopGurlz and was ranked No. 28 overall and seventh at the point guard position for the class of 2019 Tabbed to the 2019 MaxPreps All-America fifth team Received All-MET first team honors as a senior in 2019 and fourth team recognition as a junior in 2018 Named All-WCAC first team in 2018 and 2019 Helped Bishop McNamara climb to the top spot of the espnW 25 Power Rankings for five weeks during her senior season; finished ranked inside the top 10 Earned First Team Washington Catholic Athletic Conference All-League honors following a standout 2017-18 season that saw her help the Mustangs to a 21-7 record As a junior in 2017-18, averaged 18.3 ppg and made 46 3-pointers Exploded onto the scene as a freshman, taking Forestville High School to the Maryland 1A state championship and averaging 13.9 points, 2.7 assists and 2.1 steals per game. Source: Aliyah Matharu - Women's Basketball - Florida Gators
Very helpful. Would be nice to have a Q&A with each of the players. Maybe try sending a list of questions for each to answer like: - Why did you choose UF? - Who was your favorite player and team growing up? - Describe your relationship with Coach Finley? - What's your favorite thing about UF since arriving? etc. Would be nice to get to know the personalities of the players.
