Tulane University
Florida&
Women's Basketball Upsets No. 18 Florida
Dec 2, 2001 | Women's Basketball
Dec. 2, 2001
NEW ORLEANS, La. - -
Creighton 67, McNeese State 49
Tulane used an 18-3 run late in the second half to post a 57-51 upset win over No. 18 Florida in the championship game of the Tulane Invitational at Fogelman Arena on Sunday.
Tulane improved to 6-1 with the win, while Florida, ranked 18th in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches' poll and 19th by the Associated Press, dropped to 4-3. The win gave Tulane its second regular-season tournament title of the year, as the Green Wave had already claimed the San Juan Shootout championship over Thanksgiving weekend. In addition, the win was Tulane's first against a ranked opponent since its 76-72 win over then-No. 11 LSU on Dec. 31, 1999.
"This is a nice win for this team," Tulane head coach Lisa Stockton said. "You try to win games like this because maybe it will mean something in March. It was a good comeback in the second half. We felt like we shot poorly in the first half and were fortunate to be down only seven. I was happy with our defense the whole time, though. If you can hold a team like Florida to 51 points, that is a great night."
Florida held a 40-33 lead at the 11:34 mark of the second half, but Tulane held the Gators without a field goal for more than nine minutes to build its own eight-point cushion. Teana McKiver, who was named the Tournament's Most Valuable Player, scored nine straight points for Tulane to help pull the Green Wave to within one, 43-42, with 7:54 left. From there, Gwen Slaughter took over, scoring a pair of baskets to give Tulane a 46-43 lead. Sarah Goree followed with a three-pointer before Slaughter assisted on a McKiver lay-up that gave the Wave a 51-43 cushion at the 3:16 mark. The Gators rallied to cut the lead to just two with 72 seconds left, but Slaughter added a free throw and a lay-up after a Florida turnover to seal the win for the Green Wave.
McKiver had 16 points, nine rebounds and two blocks to pick up her second tournament Most Valuable Player award this season. She was also named MVP at the San Juan Shootout. She was just 1-of-6 from the floor for two points in the first half against Florida, but was a perfect 6-of-6 in the second to finish 7-of-12 from the floor. In addition, her defensive effort helped hold Florida's Vanessa Hayden, who had 20 points and 18 rebounds the game before, to just five points on 1-of-4 shooting and five rebounds.
Slaughter scored 11 of her 13 points and grabbed seven of her eight rebounds in the second half to earn a spot on the all-tournament team. Delacey Joseph was also named to the all-tournament team after scoring 12 points and grabbing three rebounds against Florida. The duo also joined McKiver on the San Juan Shootout all-tournament team.
Florida took a 26-19 lead into the locker room after a sluggish first half that saw the teams combine for 20 turnovers. However, Tulane exploded to hit 62.5 percent of its shots (15-of-24) in the second frame while holding the Gators to just 25.8 percent shooting (8-of-31) after the break. The Green Wave also rallied to out-rebound Florida, 42-40, and outscored the Gators 28-10 in the paint.
Brandi McCain led Florida with 18 points, but was just 7-of-25 from the floor and 3-of-14 from behind the three-point arc and was the only Gator in double figures. Monique Cardenas pulled down 14 rebounds for Florida. McCain and Vanessa Hayden were each named to the all-tournament team, as was Creighton's Laura Spanheimer. Creighton posted a 67-49 win over McNeese State in the tournament's third-place game on Sunday.
Tulane returns to action on Wednesday, as the Green Wave travel to face Southwest Missouri State in Springfield, Mo. The Lady Bears, who reached the Final Four this past season, are the Green Wave's second Final Four opponent this season. Tulane has already faced Purdue this year.
