What happened to Shaquille O’Neal’s daughter Me'Arah? Exploring incident from Miami vs Florida women’s game
Florida Gators guard and Shaquille O’Neal’s daughter, Me'Arah O'Neal, suffered an early setback on Saturday against the Miami Hurricanes. Just eight minutes into the first quarter, she went down after taking an elbow to the face. O’Neal battled to secure the post against the Hurricanes’ Natalija Marshall, when the Miami player accidentally hit her face while attempting to box out.
While O’Neal tried to brush off the incident initially, she slowly dropped to the floor, holding her face in pain. The game clock was stopped to evaluate the play as Florida’s medical staff surrounded the fallen guard. Marshall was called for an intentional foul, giving two free throws to the orange and blue. However, her basket, which occurred seconds after the foul, was not revoked.
Me'Arah O'Neal was immediately taken out of the contest, having played under three minutes and gone scoreless. The free throws were attempted by guard Jeriah Warren, who sank both.
The Hurricanes, who led the contest 7-2 when the injury occurred, dominated thereafter. Miami led by at least three points throughout the game and ended up winning 83-73.
Florida Gators suffer their first loss of the season
Coach Kelly Rae Finley had to make adjustments throughout the contest, resulting in the program’s lowest-scoring total this season.
While their 73 points came on near 50% shooting, it was lower than their average of 96 points through the first three contests. They defeated Florida Atlantic, Florida A&M and Chicago State with an average margin of over 40 points. But Saturday's outing was closer to last season, when they averaged 74.7 points per contest.
Me'Arah O'Neal's averaging 7.8 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.0 blocks on 50.0% shooting this season. The freshman scored 18 points and secured eight rebounds in Florida’s dominant 104-35 win against the Chicago State Cougars on Wednesday.
Currently, there is no update on O'Neal's daughter. Finley will aim to have the freshman back in the starting lineup when they play the Florida State Seminoles on Saturday.