Florida Gators
UCSB
Women's Hoops Upsets No. 15 UCSB; Hayden Nets 31
Monday, December 15, 2003 | Women's Basketball
University of Florida All-American Vanessa Hayden lit up the scoreboard with 31 points leading the Gators to a 75-49 victory over No. 15-ranked UC Santa Barbara Sunday afternoon at the O'Connell Center. Hayden dominated the game on both ends of the floor, pulling down a season-high 17 rebounds with seven blocks to guide the Gators (6-2) to their first win versus a nationally ranked opponent January 27, 2002, snapping a streak of 13 losses.
"It was a great performance by a great player," said UCSB head coach Mark French of Hayden. "Somebody was mentioning the other day that she was an All-American candidate. Any All-American poll that I'm on, she'll be getting votes, that's for sure."
Hayden's 31 points and 17 rebounds were both season highs, as she posted her 38th career double-double and her fifth this season. Her scoring outburst marked the 25th time in program history a Gator scored 30-plus points in a game, which also was Hayden's third career 30-point performance.
Tashia Morehead also scored in double digits for UF, netting 14 points with five rebounds. Bernice Mosby and Danielle Santos rounded out the Gator rebounding effort with 10 and eight rebounds, respectively, helping the UF win the battle of the boards 52-27. Florida's 52 total team rebounds was the second highest total this season.
Kristen Mann, UCSB's leading rebounder, was held to only two rebounds and four points in the first half alone. However, Mann ended the game leading the Gauchos (4-2) in points with 15 with just two rebounds. April McDivitt rounded out the double-digit scoring with 10, while pulling down four rebounds. The Gators defense put in a tremendous performance holding UCSB's leading scorer Lindsey Taylor to only five points in the first half, and only one free-throw point in the second half.
The game marked the latest home opener for UF, which began the 2003-04 season playing seven straight road contests.
"I am extremely proud of this team," UF head coach Carolyn Peck said. "It has not been an easy adventure with seven games on the road to start the season. I think we were extremely focused and disciplined. All we can do as coaches is tell them what we saw and our team carried the plan out to a T."
UF ended the first half on a 15-7 run and headed into the locker room leading 33-23. The Gators started the game in a point-for-point battle with the Gauchos, until the Gators pulled away on a 9-0 run, with 7:33 remaining. The run was sparked by a jumper from Hayden and included the first three-pointer of the game for the Gators by Morehead.
In the second half, UF pulled farther away from UCSB on a 19-12 run, of which, Hayden scored 14 points. The Gators continued their defensive attack, forcing nine UCSB turnovers in the second half, alone. The Gators put the icing on the cake, finishing the game with a 20-3 run, which featured scoring by five different Gators.
Florida next returns to the road, traveling to Orlando to face Bethune-Cookman College on December 19 in a two-day tournament hosted by UCF, which the Gators play the following day before entertaining George Washington in the O'Connell Center on December 22.
Florida vs. UCSB Women's Basketball: Post Game Quotes
Dec. 14, 2003
Florida:
UF head coach Carolyn Peck on returning home after a seven-game road stretch:
"I felt like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz. It felt so good for our players to sleep in their own beds. To play in an orange and blue atmosphere and in front of some familiar faces in the stands was really great. I was glad that we could play well for our fans."
Carolyn Peck on the difference in rebound from Friday's game and against UCSB:
"From Friday we learned that you have to have a strong mentality in playing post defense. I think that was the biggest difference in Friday's game and today."
Vanessa Hayden on her second half performance:
"I thought in the seconds half we did a very good job of hitting open shots. We went into the locker room at halftime and said to each other that if we wanted to win the game we had to bring it up a notch in the second half. I think my teammates did an awesome job of getting me the ball."
Sarah Lowe on Vanessa Hayden's play:
"I think Vanessa played tremendous. After we had gone on the seven-game road stretch and on top of that, going against someone who's 6-foot-8, Vanessa just went in there any played her heart out. I honestly have never seen such a thing. Vanessa really proved herself. I think this is one of the best games I've seen Vanessa play as a Gator."
UCSB:
UCSB Coach Mark French on UF's Vanessa Hayden:
"It was a great performance by a great player. Someone mentioned the other day she was an All-American candidate. Any All-American poll that I am on, she'll be getting votes."
"I can't remember the last time we were out-rebounded that badly. They were very athletic and very tenacious."
Kristen Mann on UCSB's Rebounding: "Since I've been here we've never struggled on the glass, but it's something we're having a problem with this year."
April McDivitt on UCSB's Rebounding: "We were out-rebounded 52-27, we won't win many games hitting the boards like that."
Kristen Mann on UF's Vanessa Hayden:
"We definitely struggled in the low post against Vanessa."
"She's very strong and very difficult to get around in the low post."
END OF REPORT
