HOUSTON, Texas -- Youth and experience guided the 13th-ranked Arkansas to an easy opening round victory at the Gene Hackerman Tournament as the Lady Razorbacks drubbed Northwestern State, 79-60. Senior India Lewis moved closer to 1,000 points with 19 to lead all scorers and freshman Ruby Vaden had her first double-double of her career as Arkansas, 5-1, led by as many as 20 in the first and 30 in the second half as the Lady'Backs coasted into the championship game of the Rice University-hosted tournament.

Despite the ease of the win over Northwestern, 1-4, Arkansas' head coach Gary Blair was looking for more from his top 25 Lady'Backs.

"We can't afford to be settling for shooting 39% and not guarding in the half court" Blair said. "We did some things well, but we have got to be better tomorrow. Particularly if we play Rice. Last time we were here, they ran one set that we couldn't stop all night."

Arkansas faces either the host Owls or Idaho State at 7 p.m tonight at Autry Court. Prior to handling NSU, Arkansas last visit to Autry Court was a shocking 77-61 upset of the then 20th-ranked Lady'Backs in 1996.

"We've tried to work on keeping the pressure on teams and when we get a lead to put the hammer down," Lewis said. "We're still working on getting that intensity."

Every Lady'Back rebounded as Vaden's career high 11 boards led a 59-37 domination of the glass by Arkansas. In her second starter as a Lady'Back, Vaden added 14 points.

"My confidence is growing and I feel like I'm beginning to play up to my own expectations," Vaden said. "I'm trying to come out less nervous and putting a lot of pressure on myself."

Vaden gave credit to Blair for helping with her fast start at Autry Court.

"Coach told me to say 'ABC' to myself every time I shot, and it worked," Vaden said. "It gave me something to relax before the shot."

"Ruby is a factor on the floor for the other team," Blair said. "They have to guard her and it spreads the floor for the rest of our team.

"Right now, we're so much further ahead than last year with our three-headed center."

Blair made a point with the team in the locker room of the improved performance at both the point and post.

"Last year, we were getting 12 points and five rebounds at the post, and now we're getting 19.8 points and 13 rebounds," Blair said. "It's a huge difference. Our point guard production hasn't dropped off one bit, and that was one of the places everyone else thought we would have trouble."

The Lady'Backs roared out of the blocks with Vaden hitting her first four field goals for a 22-17 lead 10 minutes into the game. Arkansas' defense clamped down on NSU, holding the Lady Demons to one field goal for the next seven minutes.

Junior Shameka Christon joined in as Arkansas launched the 17-2 run to lead 39-19 with 3:40 in the half.

Northwestern held Arkansas without a field goal to close the half and head to the locker room down 41-29.

Lewis scored 11 of her 19 points in the second half as Arkansas went on another an 18-2 spurt midway through the second half to lead by 30, 72-42, with 8:18 to play. Lewis hit two of her five three-pointers during the run.

"Most of the night I had a player my size on me, and it seemed to make it easy," Lewis said.

The Lady'Backs coasted in with only two field goals in the final eight minutes.

Arkansas got 17 from Christon to round out its double-digit scorers.

Diamond Cosby came off the bench to score 13 for NSU, followed by Angela Davidson with 10 points.

The nation's top assist-maker, NSU's La'Terrica Dobin, made her average with 11 assists, but the Lady Demons were frustrated most of the night on offense with only 35.9% from the field and 19 turnovers.

Georgia 91, UCLA 83

ATHENS, Ga. (AP) -- Kara Braxton scored a career-high 30 points to lead No. 14 Georgia to a 91-83 win over UCLA, which came within three points of Georgia with 30 seconds to play.

Georgia (3-2) hit seven of eight free throws down the stretch to hold off the Bruins (4-2). Tina Taylor's two free throws with 26.2 seconds left put Georgia up by five, followed by one by Braxton with 16 seconds to go.

UCLA's Gennifer Arranaga made two free throws with 11.1 to play, but Mary Beth Lycett and Taylor closed out the game with four straight free throws.

Trailing by 20 at halftime, UCLA opened up its offense in the second half, launching 18 3-point attempts. Lisa Willis made four of her 3-point attempts before fouling out, trimming Georgia's lead to 66-51 with 10:43 to play.

Capitalizing on Georgia's 25 turnovers, UCLA whittled the margin to 74-65, with 6:05 to play after two free throws by Nikki Blue.

Braxton was one of three Lady Dogs who recorded double-doubles. Braxton added 11 rebounds to her 30 points. Christi Thomas scored 23 and rebounded 11. Lycett scored 17, rebounded 13 and passed out seven assists.

Julia Pitts led UCLA with 20 points, followed by Michelle Greco and Willis with 12 apiece and Nikki Blue with 11.

The game ended a four-game winning streak by UCLA and a two-game losing streak by Georgia.

Houston 71, Florida 60

RALEIGH, N.C. -- The University of Florida women's basketball team committed 33 turnovers en route to a 71-60 loss to Houston in the first round of the GlaxoSmithKline Invitational played at Reynold's Coliseum on the campus of N.C. State.

Florida (5-2) faces N.C. State (2-4) in the consolation game on Saturday at 5 p.m. The Wolfpack lost to Washington, 88-78, behind a barrage of 15 Husky three-pointers. Houston plays the Huskies for the tournament title at 7 p.m.

Houston's Chandi Jones scored a game-high 31 points, as the Cougars shot 60.7 percent (24-of-64) in the second half, after hitting just 19.4 percent in the opening 20 minutes, and recorded 26 steals in the win, despite being outrebounded by the Gators 55-34.

UF freshman Sarah Lowe led the Gators with 24 points and eight rebounds, while fellow rookie Bernice Mosby tallied 19 points with nine rebounds. Freshman Dalila Eshe added eight points with a game-high 11 rebounds. Florida shot just 34.3 percent during the game and hit 11-of-18 free throws.

After woeful shooting by both teams in the first half, Sarah Lowe nailed a 3-pointer on the Gator's opening possession to extend their 24-21 halftime lead to six points. Bernice Mosby followed with a three-point play to give UF a nine-point advantage, 32-23, with 16:34 on the clock. After the teams traded baskets, Houston went on a quick 13-5 run with nine from Chandi Jones to close within one, 37-36, with 13:20 to go in the game. Following a pair of free throws from Brittany Davis, the Cougars exploded with an 11-2 run and increased their lead to eight, 49-41, over the Gators. After four straight points from UF, Jones nailed back-to-back 3-pointers to take 55-45 lead with just under six minutes remaining. Both teams continued trading baskets for the remainder of the game, as Houston emerged with the victory.

Baskets were tough to come by in the early minutes of the game, as the teams combined for 2-of-13 shooting from the field in the first four minutes of the game. The next four minutes weren't kind to either team, with UF hitting 4-of-14 and Houston netting just 1-of-15. The Gators committed nine turnovers and held an 18-to-6 advantage on the boards to that point but led just 8-4 with 11:21 on the clock. The half continued along at a similar pace, as UF led 24-21 at halftime by shooting 35.5 percent (11-31) and turning the ball over 18 times. The Cougars shot a painful 19.4 percent (7-36) but managed 13 steals. UF held a 32-17 rebounding advantage in the opening 20 minutes.

For the first time in 53 games, UF's Vanessa Hayden did not block a shot in a game. The 6-4 center ended the game scoring just three points and grabbing seven rebounds.

On their second road trip of the season, the young Gators continued to fight adversity. The team felt the effects of the winter storm that blitz the state of North Carolina on Thursday. The hotel Florida planned to stay in Thursday evening did not have electricity, so the squad opted to remain in warmer Gainesville for the night and travel to Raleigh on Friday morning. The Gators bused directly from the airport to the Reynold's Coliseum for shootaround and then ate lunch at a local restaurant before heading to the hotel, which still did not have electricity. After several hours of phone calls, UF's administrative assistant Melissa Maines located a different hotel that had electricity, hot water and could accommodate the Gator's large traveling party.