Senior All-American Vanessa Hayden scored 15 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead the University of Florida women's basketball team to a 66-56 victory over Boston University in the first round of the BU Invitational. The Gators play LaSalle on Sunday at 3:15 p.m. in Case Gymnasium for the tournament title.
The Gators struggled shooting from the field, but their defensive effort was stellar in the win, which was UF's 10th consecutive season-opening victory. The Gators shot just 34.7 percent (25-72) from the floor, but held the Terriers to a 32.0 percent (16-50) effort and forced 26 BU turnovers. The Gators also won the rebounding battle 53-36, including grabbing 21 on the offensive end.
"One of the areas we really addressed during the preseason was our defense," UF head coach Carolyn Peck said. "Our defense was awesome tonight. I was really proud of our effort. You can afford to have an off night shooting the basketball, but you can't have an off night defensively. If we're going to play well and do well in the SEC, we have to take pride in our defense and that effort had to start tonight."
UF sophomore Bernice Mosby came off the bench to score 14 points with a game-high 12 rebounds, while Danielle Santos led the defensive charge while contributing 13 points, six rebounds and three steals.
Becky Bonner, sister of former UF men's hoops standout Matt Bonner, led all scorers with 20 points in her BU debut. Katie Terhune added 10 points in the loss for the Terriers.
Hayden's double-double, which was the 34th of her career, was even more impressive due to the fact that she played just 15 minutes because of foul trouble throughout the game. UF's 6-4 center also tallied one block shot, which was the 251st of her career and moved her into a tie for fifth place all-time in Southeastern Conference history.
BU's Bonner scored all 11 points during the Terrier's 11-6 run to open the second half and give the host school a 32-31 lead. But that advantage was short lived, as Danielle Santos quickly responded with a 3-pointer from the right side. That bucket sparked a 16-0 run for the Gators that lasted seven minutes, with UF beginning to distance itself, 47-32. During the game-breaking spree, four different Gators scored, including seven points by newcomer Tashia Morehead.
Bonner ended the Terrier drought by hitting two consecutive baskets for BU, but Santos and Hayden answered to quell a chance of Terrier run.
The Gators were plagued by foul trouble in the first half, causing a multitude of combinations on the floor. UF's top two scores from last season - Vanessa Hayden and Bernice Mosby - each picked up their second foul in the first eight minutes of the game, with Hayden going to bench after less than four minutes into the contest.
BU capitalized from the free throw line, scoring five straight from the stripe to take a 19-17 lead with just under five minutes remaining in the half. But the Gators went on a 8-0 run to retake the lead before BU hit the final bucket of the half as UF took a 25-21 advantage into the locker room.
There were plenty of opening game jitters for both teams, as the Gators and Terriers combined for 29 first half turnovers, with UF shooting just 28.1 percent (9-32) and BU hitting only 24.0 percent (6-25) of its attempts.
Sunday's game can be heard live on the radio in Gainesville on WRUF 850AM, as well as through the internet at UF's official web site, www.GatorZone.com
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