Kiyomi McMiller had 37 points, and the Florida crowd wanted more. With under four minutes left against UCF on Thursday, the O’Connell Center started a chant of “Forty! Forty! Forty!” She answered with a three-pointer, and the building erupted. By the end of the night, the Gators had a blowout win, the record book had a new line, and fans online had plenty to say.

McMiller finished with 42 points in Florida’s 95-65 win, and she became just the fifth player in program history to score 30 or more in back-to-back games, per an X post by Women’s Hoops Network. She opened the streak with 31 in her Florida debut, an 83-60 win over Bucknell on Monday.

Only one Gator has done it three games in a row, and that was Leilani Correa in 2023-24.

The numbers behind the night were huge. McMiller shot 14-of-25 from the field, 7-of-10 from three and 7-of-8 at the line, and she added four steals. A 28-11 second quarter put the game in the Gators’ hands. Her seventh three, which tied for the third-most in a game in program history, came with 3:50 left.

She walked off to a standing ovation with 2:42 to go. The 42 points are the fourth-most in Gators history, the most ever against UCF and a new career high, topping the 40 she scored at Penn State last season.

“It just feels like you can’t miss,” Kiyomi McMiller said. “Anything you put up is going in.”

Her coach, Tammi Reiss, pointed to how she got there. “When you shoot that efficiently from three, you’re gonna have a big night,” Reiss said.

Fans watching the highlights had plenty to add, and a few reactions stood out.

“Best player in women’s college basketball; ESPN had buried her all of these years.”

The ranking history is easy to look up. ESPN had Kiyomi McMiller at No. 6 in the Class of 2024 and No. 17 in its transfer rankings this spring. Her production is also on record. She comes to Florida with career averages of 20.4 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 3.9 assists, and she is a two-time All-Big Ten honoree. She has now scored 73 points in her first two games as a Gator.

“Her matchups with Mikayla Blakes will be cinema conference play can’t come soon enough!”

Vanderbilt visits Florida in SEC play this season, and league play begins Dec. 31. Blakes is the reigning SEC Player of the Year. She led the nation in scoring last season, and her 918 points set an SEC single-season record. She has opened this season with 27 and 24 points. Kiyomi McMiller, meanwhile, has 31 and 42. Both teams are 2-0.

“She got that Shawn Marion form”

Marion played 16 NBA seasons, from 1999 to 2015, and was known for one of the league’s most unusual jump shots. He started the shot around his chest, brought the ball in front of his face and let it go with little arc, using both hands to give it sidespin. McMiller’s night was a different kind of shooting display. Reiss said mid-range is her “bread and butter,” and when she is hitting threes, there is “really nothing a defense can do.”

“Most skilled player in women’s college basketball, definitely will be a top pick when she goes to the W”

The timing depends on the league’s rules. ESPN reported in August that one way for a college player to declare early is to turn 22 during the year of the draft. She would turn 22 in 2028. As a junior, she would also finish four years of college that same year, so 2028 looks like her earliest realistic draft. For now, ESPN’s first 2027 mock draft has a different top three: JuJu Watkins, Madison Booker and Hannah Hidalgo.

“I’ll never forget when Rutgers coach held her back from that matchup against Juju & USC”

The game in question was Jan. 5, 2025. No. 4 USC visited Rutgers in a game billed as a clash between two of the country’s top young guards. Hours before tip-off, Kiyomi McMiller, then a freshman, posted on Instagram that she would not play.

Rutgers said it was the coach’s decision and would be handled internally, and no further details were given. USC won 92-42, and Watkins had 23 points and 14 rebounds.

“I guess I was a little disappointed that she wasn’t on the floor, but I think the main goal is always to win, with or without players,” said Watkins later.

From a Rutgers freshman to a Penn State sophomore to a Florida junior, Kiyomi McMiller has now landed on her third team in three years, and her biggest night yet. Fans have called her the best player in the country, and McMiller will get another chance to answer them.