BOSTON, Mass. - Vanessa Hayden had 15 points and 10 rebounds despite playing only 15 minutes because of foul trouble to lead Florida to a 66-56 victory over Boston University in the first round of the BU Invitational on Saturday.
The Gators play La Salle at 3:15 today in the championship game.
The Gators shot poorly but used defense for a 10th consecutive season-opening victory.
The Gators shot 34.7 percent (25-for-72) but the Terriers were 16-for-50 (32 percent) and had 26 turnovers. UF outrebounded BU 53-36.
"One of the areas we really addressed during the preseason was our defense," UF coach Carolyn Peck said. "Our defense was awesome. You can afford to have an off night shooting, but you can't have an off night defensively."
UF's Bernice Mosby came off the bench for 14 points and a game-high 12 rebounds, and Danielle Santos was strong defensively while contributing 13 points, six rebounds and three steals.
Becky Bonner, sister of former UF men's standout Matt Bonner, had a game-high 20 points in her BU debut.
Hayden got her 53rd double double and had one block to tie for fifth all-time in the SEC with 251.
Bonner scored all of BU's points in an 11-6 run to open the second half and give the Terriers a 32-31 lead. Then Danielle Santos' 3-pointer started a 16-0 UF run.
The teams combined for 29 first-half turnovers, with UF shooting just 28.1 percent (9-for-32) and BU hitting only 24 percent (6-for-25).
NO. 13 MINNESOTA 93, SOUTHERN 41: Lindsay Whalen had 27 points, seven rebounds and four assists for the host Gophers, who led 49-18 at halftime in opening round of the Subway Classic. Minnesota faces Colorado today for the championship.
NO. 16 COLORADO 85, HARVARD 81: Tera Bjorklund scored 33 and the Buffaloes rallied from a 15-point first-half deficit. Bjorklund was 12-for-14 from the field and made all nine free throws. She scored 20 in the first half to keep Colorado close, and Kate Fagan scored 14 in the second half to finish with 23.
NO. 21 OKLAHOMA 90, ORAL ROBERTS 42: The Sooners outrebounded the Golden Eagles 68-23 and started the second half with a 17-0 run in the opener of the Bertha Teague Classic in Oklahoma City. Krista Sanchez scored 13, all in the second half.
NO. 22 ARIZONA 89, NORTHERN ARIZONA 67: Shawntinice Polk scored 25, including nine straight to start the second half, for the host Wildcats. Alyssa Wahl led Northern Arizona with 26 points.
ECKERD 63, BARBER SCOTIA COLLEGE 45: Eckerd shot well early and rolled to a victory in the consolation final of the Tip-Off Tournament in Morrow, Ga. Eckerd's K.C. Gavin of Palm Harbor scored a game-high 16 and Jen Ritter had 11 points and a game-high seven assists.
TAMPA 62, QUACHITA BAPTIST 53: Shawtavia Mathis led the Spartans with 22 points and Jaunita McClinton scored 16 in Pensacola.
