Florida Gators
Team Concept (Exh.)
Women?s Basketball Nets Second Exhibition Win
Wednesday, November 12, 2003 | Women's Basketball
The University of Florida women's basketball team concluded its exhibition season Tuesday night with a convincing 74-55 victory over Zala Volan, a traveling team from Hungary sponsored by Team Concept Basketball.
The Gators were led by senior All-American Vanessa Hayden (Orlando), who poured in 13 points while pulling down six rebounds in just 16 minutes of action. Tashia Morehead (Panama City) also scored 13 while ripping down four boards and dishing out six assists.
"Tashia has really been gelling with the team in practice," Florida Head Coach Carolyn Peck said. "Her great work ethic is starting to show. You saw that out there tonight."
Thirteen was a lucky number on this night for Florida as Bernice Mosby (Brooksville) added her name to Florida players in double figures with 13 points on 6-of-9 shooting.
The Gators opened the game with a 7-0 run, dumping the ball into Hayden who scored the first five Florida points in the paint. A stifling Florida defense held Zala Volan scoreless for nearly seven minutes until a lay-up on a loose ball finally found the bottom of the net at 13:02.
"The guards have done an excellent job of getting the ball down low," Peck said. "Ideally, we want to run an inside-out offense."
The two teams exchanged buckets for the next five minutes until Florida exploded for a 9-0 run that would break the game open. The 26-13 lead was quickly quelled by Zala Nolan, which ignited for a 8-0 run near the end of the half.
Just as it appeared that Zala Nolan would go into halftime with only a five-point deficit, sophomore Sarah Lowe (Wynnewood, Pa.) nailed a three-pointer from the corner at the buzzer to give the Gators a 29-21 halftime lead.
The second half started much like the first with Florida racing out to an 8-0 run to start the half and extend its lead to 16. Zala Volan would never be close again. Florida spent most of the second half enjoying a 22-4 run.
The scoring spree was highlighted by five straight points from freshman Kim Dye (Fayetteville, Tenn.) and some nice passing by Gator forwards Brittany Davis (Gainesville) and Dalila Eshe (Tallahassee) that found cutting guards on their way to the basket.
The 2-0 start marks the first time since the 2000-01 season that Florida swept the exhibition season. The Gators return to action November 22 when they take on Boston in the BU Invitational to start the regular season.
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