Florida Gators
Creighton
Women's Hoops Defeats Creighton, 78-67
Sunday, December 2, 2001 | Women's Basketball
University of Florida junior Courtney Cooper (Miami, FL) scored eight points during a 10-2 run that opened the second half as the 19th-ranked Lady Gators defeated Creighton 78-67 in the first round of the Tulane Invitational played at Fogelman Arena.
With the scored tied 41-41 at halftime, Florida (4-2) broke open the game using a stifling defense that held the Bluejays (1-3) in the second half to a 25.9-shooting percentage (7-of-27) and outrebounded CU 34-16 en route to the win.
"Creighton is a very tough and fundamentally sound team and we knew it was going to be a battle to the end," UF head coach Carol Ross said. "We didn't play great in the first half, but I was pleased with our effort in the second half and that enabled us to get the win tonight."
The Lady Gators play either Tulane or McNeese State in the championship game on Sunday at 6 p.m. ET.
Florida's Brandi McCain (Silsbee, TX) scored a game-high 23 points and collected five steals, while Vanessa Hayden (Orlando, FL) contributed 20 points and tied her career-high of 18 rebounds in addition to blocking five shots. Cooper finished the game with 16 points and six rebounds.
Creighton's Dayna Finch led four Bluejays in double-figures, netting 19, shooting 5-for-10 from the 3-point line.
The Bluejays sizzled from the 3-point line in the first half, hitting 8-of-17, but connected on just 3-of-11 in the final period. Florida shot 50.0% from the field in the first half, when the Lady Gators converted 5-of-9 long-range attempts. For the game, UF shot 42.4%, while Creighton managed 34.9% accuracy.
Florida built a 14-point advantage in the first 10 minutes of the second half, with scoring from Cooper (nine points), Hayden (four points), McCain (four points), Monique Cardenas (two points), and Gregory (one free throw). Creighton rallied with 6-0 run, to cut UF's lead to eight points (60-52) with 8:02 remaining in the game. The Lady Gators countered with a 6-1 run, but the Bluejays refused to go way, as Finch nailed her fourth trey of the game and Sara Cizek followed with a pair of free throws.
After the teams traded baskets, Cooper's hanging jumper inside the paint sparked an 11-4 run as UF slowly began to pull away, taking a 77-62 lead with 1:29 remaining in the game.
Creighton continually used its 3-point accuracy to prevent Florida from going on any significant runs in the first half. During the opening period, Florida led 19-13 but the Bluejays countered with an 8-0 run thanks to a pair of treys from Laura Spanheimer to take its first lead of the game with 9:23 remaining. The teams traded baskets for the remainder of the half, as freshman Tishona Gregory hit a jumper from just inside the arc to even the score after the first 20 minutes of play.
END OF REPORT
