Senior All-American Vanessa Hayden scored 29 points with 14 rebounds leading the University of Florida women's basketball team (2-0) to a hard-fought 90-65 victory over LaSalle (1-1) in the championship game of the Boston University Invitational. Hayden, who was named Most Valuable Player of the tournament, was virtually unstoppable when she touched the ball, hitting 14-of-22 from the field, scoring with her right and left hands and displaying a variety of shots in the paint.
"Vanessa looked every bit the All-American that she is this," UF head coach Carolyn Peck said. "This was an extremely hard-fought game, much closer than the final score indicated. We came out a little tired because we pressed all 40 minutes in last night's game, but I told the team they couldn't use that as an excuse. They dug deep and found another level of energy in the second half. Bernice Mosby was a huge spark off the bench again for us tonight. She's electric when she's on the floor and her teammates feed off that energy. The entire team won this championship for us this weekend. It was a true team effort."
Mosby also represented UF the All-Tournament team, scoring 13 points with nine rebounds versus LaSalle, while junior Tashia Morehead recorded 15 points for the Gators.
UF used a much better shooting effort from the floor, connecting on 48.7 percent (37-76) of their shots. The Gators held a 39-34 advantage on the boards and forced 22 turnovers while committing just 11 and collecting 20 assists.
LaSalle ripped out of the halftime lockerroom scoring the first seven points to shrink UF's nine-point lead to two, 43-41. The teams continued to trade baskets over the next eight minutes, with neither able to stage a run. After Hayden hit a tough basket, she was whistled for a technical foul and Jill Marano, who led the country in free throw percentage last year, converted both attempts from the free throw line to bring the Explorers within one, 53-52, with 13:32 remaining.
UF seemed to increase its intensity from that moment, exploding on a game-breaking 16-3 run to take a 69-55 lead with 7:32 left in the game. LU then hit a 3-pointer, but Tamia Williams answered with one for the Gators, who then used a 8-0 run to further themselves even more with a 80-60 advantage and never looked back en route to the victory.
Hayden scored eight of UF's first 10 points to open the game, but LaSalle answered every Gator bucket with a shot of its own to keep the game close early. Tashia Morehead nailed a 3-pointer and Bernice Mosby followed with another after an Explorer field goal to stretch UF's lead to eight points, 18-10, with 14:02 remaining in the half. The teams continued to trade baskets, until Tishona Gregory and Dalila Eshe converted on back-to-back trips to give the Gators a 26-16 lead. LU closed the gap to six points, but UF responded with scores from Morehead, Brittany Davis and Mosby to take a 38-26 lead with 3:20 to go.
But that's when the Gators went cold from the floor and LaSalle took advantage using a 8-0 run over the next two-plus minutes to get within four, 38-34, with 1:38 left in the period. Tamia Williams ended UF's scoring drought with a 6-footer off an inbound play and then nailed a 3-pointer as the halftime horn sounded to propel the Gator's lead back to nine points, 43-34, entering the lockerroom.
UF shot 50 percent (19-38) from the floor during the opening half, while LU hit 46.4 percent (13-28) and shot 8-of-11 from the free throw line.
Texas A&M defeated Boston University 61-53 in the consolation game.
The Gators return to action on Tuesday, November 25, when the squad plays at Richmond (1-0).
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