BOULDER, Colo. – The No. 1 seed Florida lacrosse team (17-2, 5-0 Big 12) defeated third-seeded Arizona State (11-8, 3-2 Big 12) by a score of 21-10 in the Big 12 Tournament Championship on Saturday afternoon. It’s the Gators 11th straight Conference Tournament Championship and their 12th in program history.
UF trailed 4-1 in the first quarter, but outscored the Sun Devils 20-6 the rest of the way, including a 12-0 run from the second quarter to the fourth quarter. It was Florida’s eighth come-from-behind victory of the season.
Theresa Bragg was named Most Outstanding Player of the tournament, as the defender recorded two caused turnovers and a ground ball. She helped the Gators defense hold the Sun Devils scoreless for 31:48 of game time from the second quarter to the fourth quarter.
Eight different Gators scored goals, led by Gianna Monaco and Clark Hamilton who recorded five goals apiece, landing them on the All-Tournament team. Jordan Basso totaled three goals, along with two goals from Kaitlyn Davies, Frannie Hahn and Gabby Greene. Gabbi Koury and Jenny Markey each had one goal.
Georgia Hoey was flawless in the cage, recording eight saves on a .727 save percentage, blanking the Sun Devils in the third quarter. Her record improves to 6-2 on the season.
How It Happened
First Quarter
* The Sun Devils scored the first two goals of the game, before Hamilton scored an unassisted goal to pull Florida within 2-1 at the 9:47 mark.
* Arizona State connected on two more goals to go up 4-1, but the Gators answered with two straight of their own, with Monaco scoring the first and Frannie Hahn scoring the second off an assist from Monaco to make it 4-3 at the 6:24 point.
* The Sun Devils scored with 5:45 left, before the Gators scored two consecutive goals to end the frame off goals from Hamilton and Davies, with the second one assisted by Frannie Hahn. The score was tied at 5-5 after one.
Second Quarter
* Florida outscored Arizona State 7-2 in the second quarter, putting 12 shots on frame compared to just three from the Sun Devils.
* Markey scored the first goal of the quarter 43 seconds into the frame off an assist from Frannie Hahn, which was followed by a goal from Frannie Hahn to give UF a 7-5 lead with 13:03 to play.
* Arizona State scored, before the two teams then exchanged goals each. The Gators goal was scored by Basso off an assist from Monaco. UF led 8-7 with 9:42 to play.
* Florida scored four consecutive goals to end the half all on free-position opportunities. The goals were scored by Basso, Hamilton, Monaco and Davies to put UF up 12-7 at the break.
Third Quarter
* The Gators outscored the Sun Devils 6-0 in the third, as Hamilton scored two, Monaco scored three and Greene scored one. The Gators led 18-7 after three.
Fourth Quarter
* The Gators scored two more goals, to start the fourth to conclude a 12-0 run. UF led 20-7 with 9:32 remaining.
* Arizona State scored to make it 20-8, before Basso scored her third of the game to make it 21-8 with 6:07 to play.
* The Sun Devils scored two late goals, as the Gators won by a score of 21-10.
Key Notes
* The Gators won their 12th Conference Tournament Championship in program history and their 11th in a row
* UF improves to 5-0 all-time against Arizona State
* Including tournament play, the Gators went 7-0 against the Big 12 this season, winning by an average margin of 12.00 goals per game
* Bragg was named the tournament most outstanding player, while Davies, Hamilton, Ashley Dyer and Monaco were named to the All-tournament team
* Monaco finished the tournament with 11 goals and four assists on a .647 shooting percent, she now has 13 hat-tricks this season and 16 in her career
* Hamilton logged her 11th career hat-trick and her fourth five goal game of the season
* Basso recorded her 50th career hat-trick and her sixth of the season
* Davies has logged four consecutive multi-goal games and has 13 draw over last three games
* The Gators have won five consecutive games by double digits and have nine double digit victories this season
* UF recorded six free-position goals, good for the second most this season
Active Streaks
* Jordan Basso<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-lacrosse/roster/jordan-basso/17271>: points (93)
* Gianna Monaco<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-lacrosse/roster/gianna-monaco/17291>: points (36), goals (21)
* Frannie Hahn<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-lacrosse/roster/frannie-hahn/17280>: points (19) assists (19)
* Jenny Markey: draw controls (13), points (6)
* Elyse Finnelle: saves (8)
Next Up
The No. 4 Gators will await their seeding in the NCAA Tournament on Sunday for the NCAA Tournament Selection show at 9 p.m. on ESPNU. The first round of the NCAA Tournament will be on Friday, May 9.