Baylor used a devastating 21-3 run late in the first half to blow open a close game, defeating Florida 91-76 in second round of the NCAA Championship played at The Pit/Bob King Court in front of 15,544.
The Gators end their remarkable turnaround season with a 19-11 record, one year removed from a 9-19 mark.
With senior All-American Vanessa Hayden on the bench in foul trouble after playing just eight minutes in the first half, No. 4 seeded Baylor (26-8) outscored fifth-seeded UF 30-6 in the paint during the opening period to take a commanding 46-32 halftime lead.
Before Baylor's game-breaking run, the lead changed hands 11 times and the score was tied five times. UF never led by more than one point, which it did on six occasions. The 14-point halftime deficit was tied for the largest the Gators had faced this season.
Florida cut Baylor's lead to nine points twice during the first six minutes of the second half, but Baylor's Emily Niemann immediately answered with deep three-pointers on both occasions to prevent UF from making a serious run.
The teams traded buckets for the next two minutes, as Baylor held a 63-51 lead with 13:32 remaining. But the Gators staged a 9-2 run with Danielle Santos hitting back-to-back field goals, Hayden netting a tough jumper and Tamia Williams nailing a three-pointer from the right corner, as UF closed within five, 65-60, with 11:16 to go in the game.
Monique Jones then scored for BU, but Hayden followed with two free throws and the deficit again was at five with 10:46 on the clock. However, Florida had some defensive breakdowns, allowing multiple offensive rebounds and a break-away layup as Baylor used a 6-0 spurt to up its lead to 11, 73-62, with 7:58 remaining.
UF scored the next three points, but Dionne Brown scored four of BU's next five points, as the Bears increased their lead back to double figures, 78-65, with 5:21 remaining. Baylor notched its last point of the 5-0 run from the free throw after Hayden was whistled for her fifth personal, fouling out of a game for the first time this season.
Hayden completed her collegiate career with 1,576 points, 1,105 rebounds and a program-record 357 blocks for averages of 14.7 points and 10.3 rebounds. This season alone, the 6-foot-4 center tallied 571 points, 317 rebounds and 107 blocks. She posted 17 double-doubles in her final season and 50 during her four-year career.
The main difference in the game came on the boards, where Baylor held a 51-39 rebounding edge, snaring 19 on the offensive end alone. It was tied for the largest rebounding deficit the Gators faced all season, however UF did manage to defeat Auburn in the other contest.
Bernice Mosby came off the bench to score a team-high 16 points with seven rebounds. Hayden netted 12 of her 15 points in the second half, grabbing seven rebounds and blocking five shots in the game. Danielle Santos scored 13 points with six assists, while Tashia Morehead added 12 points and five boards.
Sophia Young scored a game-high 23 points, with 17 of those coming during the deciding first half. Emily Niemann netted 16 points with four three-pointers, including two key treys during the second half when the Gators were making their run.
Baylor shot 44.3 percent (31-70) from the floor during the game, while UF finished with a 38.1 mark (24-63) that included a 27.3 effort in the first half.
The lead changed hands on the first four scores of the game until Baylor hit back-to-back buckets to take a 6-3 lead. But the Gators followed with three free throws from Vanessa Hayden and Danielle Santos to tie the game at the 16:22 mark. Sophia Young answered for the Bears by converting a three-point play and extended BU's back to three, 9-6.
Hayden then hit an 8-footer that rolled around the rim and fell through and Bernice Mosby came off the bench and canned her first field goal attempt, a 12-footer from the right corner, as UF regained the lead. But Hayden picked up her second foul with 14:39 remaining in the half and went to the bench for the rest of the period after scoring three points with three rebounds and UF holding a 10-9 lead.
Jessika Stratton came back with a jumper for BU, but Mosby sank a pair of free throws and lead changed again. The Bears recorded the next two field goals of the game to hold a 15-12 lead with 12:20 remaining, but Santos hit a jumper and Morehead sank one from the charity stripe to tie the game at 15-all with 11:05 on the clock.
The teams again traded two-point scores for the next seven possessions until Sarah Lowe canned a three-pointer from the right side of the arc that gave the Gators a 24-23 lead with 7:20 remaining. The teams traded scores again before Baylor ripped off a devastating 21-3 run, scoring 14 straight at the end of the spree to race out to a 46-29 lead. Tashia Morehead hit her first field goal of the game, a three-pointer, with three seconds remaining to finally end the run, as the Gators trailed 46-32 at halftime.
Morehead and Mosby led UF with seven points during the first half, when the Gators shot just 27.3 percent (9-33) from the floor and committed six turnovers.
Sophia Young netted 17 points on 7-of-12 shooting in the first half, leading the Bears to a 50 percent (18-36) shooting mark.
Florida Post Game Quotes
Florida Head Coach Carolyn Peck
Opening Statement:
"Congratulations to Baylor, they played very hard. They were very aggressive tonight and it was a battle and unfortunately Vanessa (Hayden) got her second foul early and her fifth foul too early; earlier than I would have liked. I am very proud of this team. I think that having to come out here (Albuquerque, N.M.) and win their first game takes a lot of energy physically and emotionally, I think that this team did a good job with that. I think that this loss doesn't tarnish the season that we have had. I think that these Florida Gator women have a lot to be proud of, they turned around a season from 9-19 to get to the NCAA Tournament and pretty close to the opportunity to get to the Sweet Sixteen. I think that is a bright spot for the future to come and I think that there is a bright future for all of them. Vanessa, being a senior, has a bright future in the WNBA. She is going to be great and having a lot of the team coming back is a bright spot."
(On looking back on the season)
"I hope that Vanessa (Hayden) looks back on the season and realizes that she accomplished the most during her career at the University of Florida. She convinced herself of what she is capable of doing when she sets her mind to it. With the dedication that Vanessa made over the summer to get herself in great shape, because she wanted to be a great basketball player, she proved to herself that she could be exactly that."
NOTES
NCAA Women's Basketball Championship
Second Round
#4 Baylor 91 – #5 Florida 76
• Tonight's attendance – 15,544 – is the fourth-highest all-time for a first/second round NCAA Tournament game, overall and in the Midwest Region. The top four first/second round attendances have come at University Arena/The Pit here in Albuquerque, N.M.
• Baylor advances to the third round for the first time ever. The Bears are now 3-2 overall in the NCAA Tournament and 1-1 in the second round. Their 26 wins are the second-most in their NCAA history.
• Florida's 14-point deficit at halftime was its largest of the season. The Gators have not won this season when trailing by more than 10 points at halftime.
• Baylor is 13-0 when scoring 80 or more points this season. The 91 points scored tonight are the team's most ever in an NCAA Tournament game and the most since a 100-point game vs. Sam Houston State Jan. 2, 2004.
• Florida's Vanessa Hayden fouled out for the first time all season. She finishes her career with 1,576 points (14.7 pg), 1,105 rebounds (10.3 pg) and 357 blocks.
• Baylor outrebounded Florida by 12, which tied for Florida's largest rebounding deficit of the season.
• Baylor turned the ball over just seven times in the game, a season low. The Bears are now tied with five others for third-fewest turnovers all-time in Midwest Region first/second round games.
