University of Florida All-American Vanessa Hayden scored 18 points with 12 rebounds and seven blocks leading the Gators to a 74-60 victory over Florida State Saturday evening at the Tallahassee-Leon County Civic Center in front of 1,846.
Hayden was one of four Gators (4-1) scoring in double-figures, with Bernice Mosby recording 14, Tashia Morehead adding 13 and Sarah Lowe netting 10 points with eight rebounds in the win, which was UF's 45th consecutive victory against instate teams and 16th straight over the Seminoles (4-2). Florida Atlantic was the last team from the Sunshine State to defeat the Gators, claiming the 84-63 win on Feb. 16, 1993.
"The most impressive thing about this win was our contributions off the bench," UF head coach Carolyn Peck said. "We had 32 points from our bench players and that's good stuff. I also was impressed with Vanessa Hayden because she was playing with a bad head-cold but she still gave us everything she had tonight. The team fed off of that."
Tasheika Allen, FSU's leading scorer, recorded 18 points in the first half, but managed just two in the second half when the Gators put the game away. She was the lone Seminole scoring in double-figures.
"Another key factor for us was our defense on Tasheika Allen in the second half," Peck said. "She's a great player, but we used a terrific tag-team effort with Danielle Santos and Tashia Morehead guarding her."
FSU entered the game shooting 51.0 percent from the floor, but the Gators held them to 36.1 percent (26-72) on Saturday. While the Seminoles outrebounded UF 52-49, the Gators held a 26-12 advantage in the decisive second half.
With UF leading 35-34 with just over 18 minutes remaining in the game, the Gators ripped off a devastating 23-6 run over the next seven-plus minutes to take a commanding 60-40 lead with 10:27 left. Six different Gators scored during the spree, as UF used a balanced offensive attack to pull away.
The teams essentially traded baskets the rest of the game with FSU using a couple mini-runs late to close the final deficit.
The Seminoles scored the first points of the second half to cut UF's 35-32 halftime lead to one point, but the Gators finally found a spark and recorded a quick 9-0 run with scoring from five different players to take a 44-34 advantage with just under 16 minutes remaining. The teams traded baskets before Tishona Gregory nailed a 3-pointer from the top of the key and Danielle Santos followed with a pair of free throws to launch a 14-2 run, as the Gators took a 60-40 lead with 10:32 remaining and began to pull away.
Tasheika Allen hit a 3-pointer to give the Seminoles an 8-5 lead, but Bernice Mosby responded for the Gators with a five-point spree of her own that sparked a 10-0 run to give UF a 15-8 lead. The teams traded buckets for the next few minutes until Tishona Gregory hit an outside jumper and Sarah Lowe converted a three-point play to extend the Gator lead to 10 points. After Allen hit a bucket, Vanessa Hayden and Tara Taylor answered to give UF a 26-14 advantage.
Again the teams exchanged field goals and the Gators held a 32-18 lead after Tashia Morehead canned a deep jumper with 5:09 remaining the period. But that was UF's final field goal of the half, as the Gators began to play sloppy, turning the ball over and allowing several offensive rebounds which the Seminoles used to fuel a 18-2 run to cut the deficit to 34-32. Dalila Eshe ended the first half scoring with one free throw, as UF took a 35-32 lead into the lockerroom.
During the opening stanza, FSU outrebounded UF 30-23, collecting 13 on the offensive end. The Gators shot 38.2 percent (13-34), while the Seminoles hit 35.1 percent (13-37) which included a 4-for-4 effort from the three-point stripe by Allen.
The travel-weary Gators next play on Tuesday, December 9, when the team continues its brutal seven-game season-opening road trip, this time traveling to Rochester, Michigan, to face Oakland University.
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