Florida Basketball: Aliyah Matharu has shined as team's best player

The SEC is one of the powerhouse conferences in women’s college basketball. While LSU reigns as the defending National Champions, several teams in the conference have gotten off to great starts this season. One team that has played tremendous basketball has been the Florida Gators — 8-3 and looking to build momentum as they shift into conference play.

The Gators have a talented roster that has a combination of scorers, defenders and rebounders, including Laila Reynolds, Leilani Correa, Ra Shayna Kyle, and several others. However, the star of the Gators in the early season has been transfer guard Aliyah Matharu, who wasted no time in proving herself the leader of this team.

It’s been an interesting journey for Matharu during her college career. She blossomed as a key player while playing for Mississippi State and it carried over to her one season at Texas. While she initially transferred to Florida last year, she was ineligible due to transfer rules and didn't make her debut until the 2023-24 season as a senior.

The Gators have played efficiently on both ends of the floor and Matharu has been the player driving the ship for Florida this season. Her energy on both ends has been contagious as it runs off the rest of her team. 

Throughout her college career, Matharu’s bread and butter has always been defense. To be a great player, you have to show energy on that end of the floor. For Matharu, it’s her competitive spirit that allows her to shine on the defensive end. She's a great perimeter defender as she applies ball pressure and can get into the passing lanes. Let’s also not forget to mention her ability to fight over screens and play physically. Matharu plays like her life is on the line every defensive possession. It plays a role in why Florida has thrived on that end of the floor all season. 

Offensively, Matharu has proven to be a leader on that end as well. She can be a jack of all trades, playing the role of playmaker or scorer. Matharu has continued to blossom as a scorer and can score efficiently on all three levels, using her quickness to blow by defenders. Her growth on the offensive end has continued to put teams in shambles as it disrupts their game plan to defend her. 

Matharu is averaging 19.6 points along with 3.5 assists and 2.5 steals. She's the second leading scorer in the SEC behind Taliah Scott of Arkansas and ranks top 10 in steals. The numbers back up Matharu’s play on the court. She battles on both ends of the court and shines in the process. Matharu had displayed multiple performances where she carried the Gators to a big win. 

Matharu has six games this season where she has scored 20+ points. One game where she shined was in the Gators’ close win over Columbia. When the game is on the line, teams need their best players to make plays. Matharu did just that as she scored 26 points and grabbed four steals in an 83-81 victory, including sinking the game-winner.

Florida’s recent performance against Michigan was one for the books. They executed well on defense and it led to easy opportunities on offense. Once again, Matharu was the player who stole the show. Her importance was shown by how well Florida played when she was on the court versus when she sat on the bench. On their way to a dominant victory, Matharu led the way with 27 points along with three assists and four steals. 

Matharu has shined at the beginning of her senior year. It was important that she started the season well and continued to show her value as a leader. The Gators’ schedule only gets tougher as Conference Play is set to begin. It will be a great experience for Matharu to match up against the other top point guards of the SEC.