Freshman
Vanessa Hayden (Orlando, Fla.) posted her third double-double in seven games at Florida to lead the 20th-ranked Lady Gators (7-0) to a 85-44 victory over Central Florida (3-4) at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center on Saturday night. Hayden poured in 19 points and added 11 rebounds, both game highs, as the Lady Gators remained undefeated on the year.
In extending the all-time series lead over the Golden Knights to 20-0, UF head coach
Carol Ross continued her dominance of the Sunshine State. Ross' Lady Gators have now won 37 straight games over in-state opposition, last losing to Florida Atlantic on Feb. 16, 1993. Ross is 7-0 versus UCF in her coaching career. The 44 points are the fewest UF has held UCF to in the 20 meetings between the schools' all-time dating back to 1979.
"This was a great team win," Ross said. "Every player for us was able to score and every player saw good minutes. It's always a lot of fun when everyone can contribute. I was a little worried about a post-Penn State hangover, but this team stepped up and played like the top-25 ranked team that it is."
Florida was playing its first game since entering the top-25 of the national polls. The Lady Gators were last ranked on January 17, 1999 before joining the top 25 this week. UF upset then-11th-ranked Penn State last week.
The Lady Gators opened the game on a 13-2 run over the first seven minutes, hitting on six of their first 10 shots. After a pair of Golden Knight's baskets, UF went on a 20-point run over a 6:24 span, capped by a
Tamara Stocks (Pickerington, Ohio) layin off of a feed from
Tombi Bell (Maimi, Fla.) with 5:43 to play in the half, to take a 33-6 lead. The Lady Gators dominated the low post early, with 6-4 center Vanessa Hayden scoring eight of UF's 20 points during the run, part of her 10 in the first half which led all scorers. Meanwhile UF's defense held the Golden Knights to 36.8 shooting on 7-of-19 in the opening stanza while forcing 11 UCF turnovers. The Gators held a 41-18 advantage at the break.
UF extended its lead to 29 points, 57-28, with 13:36 to play after Bell completed a three-point play when she was fouled on a drive to the hoop and sank the subsequent free throw. The Gators went up 63-29 with 11:53 to play when
Brandi McCain (Silsbee, Texas) sank consecutive three pointers with a steal in between. Florida led by as many as 43 on two occasions before eventually posting the 85-44 win.
In the game, Bell, McCain and Stocks joined Hayden in double-digit scoring for the Lady Gators with 16,12 and 10 points respectively while UF's defense held UCF to 37.5 percent shooting (15-for-40). UF outrebounded the Golden Knights 46-24 while the Lady Gators forced 22 turnovers and committed only a season-low eight turnovers of their own. Lanetra Cooks led the Golden Knights with her 12 points.
"I thought we rebounded extremely well," Ross said. "Our defensive effort was good enough tonight for us to establish a commanding lead and that made up for our shooting, which wasn't a solid as it needs to be."
Florida takes a week off before its next game. The Lady Gators battle New Mexico on December 17 in Miami while competing in the Baptist Health Systems Women's Fab Four Classic. UCF next plays at Bethune-Cookman on December 12.
