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BRIAN SHAFFERThe Gators, led by Vanessa Hayden, face a swarming defense in the Pit today in the NCAAs.
The Florida women's basketball team has taken pride in its ability to win in the country's toughest environments all season. And while it enters tonight's game against 12th-seeded New Mexico as the Midwest Region's No. 5 seed, the Gators will be walking into one of the sport's most hostile places.
University Arena's Bob King Court, nicknamed the Pit, is New Mexico's homecourt and has held nearly 10-million fans since opening in 1966. The Lobos ranked fourth nationally in average attendance last season with almost 12,000.
This season, the Lobos used that support and parlayed it into a 15-3 home record, to 9-4 on the road.
"It is a great homecourt advantage," Florida coach Carolyn Peck said. "They do draw a great crowd. (New Mexico fans) are very supporting of their basketball team. It's funny we have to play them because I watched them in their Mountain West Conference championship game against Utah. I said then that they were a very good basketball team."
The Gators need a big game from senior Vanessa Hayden. The 6-foot-4 center said she's ready to lead Florida's inexperienced players by doing whatever is needed.
"I want to do everything for this team," she said. "I want to score, rebound, block shots and teach them what I know."
Working against Hayden and the Gators will be a swarming Lobos defense that led the NCAA in opponent's field goals (33 percent).
"We've seen a number of different defenses going up against Vanessa," Peck said, "from zone to junk defenses to man-to-man to everybody and the people working the concession stand closing down on her. ... I don't think we can say that we know whether they are going to play a zone or man-to-man. I think it will be a mixture of both."
Hayden, the team's offensive leader all season averaging 19.3 points, said that while she might be the player New Mexico keys on, she is not the only one capable of scoring.
"We're going to go out and a lot of teams are going to be focusing on Vanessa Hayden," she said. "But you know what? Sara Lowe or Tashia Morehead is going to punch them in the face."