Bulls Take Game One in War on I-4 Series

[Brad]

USF ATHLETICS GoUSFBulls.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
DATE: January 14, 2018
WEB LINK: http://bit.ly/2r4B9BV

Follow @USFAthletics On Twitter
Like USF Athletics on Facebook

Bulls Take Game One in War on I-4 Series

TAMPA, JAN. 14, 2018 – USF held the Knights to their second-lowest point total of the season, Sunday, as the women’s basketball team ran away with a 62-45 victory at the Sun Dome. The Bulls took sole possession of second place in the American Athletic Conference standings with the win. 

In a true team win, USF (14-4, 4-1 The American) had balanced scoring with three players in double figures, led by Kitija Laksa (Riga, Latvia) with 16 points. Laia Flores (Mataro, Spain) and Maria Jespersen (Arhus, Denmark) added 14 and 13 respectively and each added seven rebounds. The Bulls had six players with at least five rebounds. 

The Bulls dominated the glass, outrebounding UCF (11-7, 3-2 The American) 48-30. The team’s 48 rebounds included 17 offensive rebounds. USF scored 18 points off of second chance opportunities. USF’s defense shined, holding UCF to single digits in both the first and second quarters and only held the Knights to a 34 percent field goal percentage on the day. 

Quotable
USF head coach Jose Fernandez on the team’s defense:
"Our players defended. We played really good team defense and held them to one shot and out. Second half wasn’t a very pretty basketball game either way, but again, we held them to 14 points in the third quarter.” 

“We wanted to defend the dribble, keep them in front of us and do a great job on the glass.”

Key Stats 
20 – The Bulls scored 20 points off turnovers. The Bulls’ eight steals were the second most this season. 
17 – USF grabbed 17 offensive rebounds and held UCF to just six. 

Notable
•    The Bulls improved to 7-1 at the Sun Dome this season. 
•    USF collected three points in the War on I-4 rivalry series. UCF leads the all-sports series 21-12. The Bulls will have a chance to sweep the women’s basketball series 6-0 at UCF Feb. 18
•    Since 2014, USF has compiled a 45-9 record at home, including a 23-6 record in The American.

Up Next
USF begins a two-game road swing Jan. 17. The Bulls travel to Memphis Wednesday before taking their first trip to Wichita State Jan. 21. USF returns to the Sun Dome Jan. 28 when it hosts Temple at 12 p.m. 
 

[BullFan98]

Awesome job!  Go Bulls!!

[raptorcj]

It was a domination on defense. Offense can be a lot better--they didn't have their best game but still played well as a team and kept the ball moving enough to get some open looks. Good game for them to get ready for a road trip.

[CousinRicky]

2 hours ago, raptorcj said:

It was a domination on defense. Offense can be a lot better--they didn't have their best game but still played well as a team and kept the ball moving enough to get some open looks. Good game for them to get ready for a road trip.

If not for more than a handful of missed layups that's a 30 point game.  UCiF never really threatened.

[Mama_Bull]

USF moved up two spots to #23 in the Coaches poll.

http://www.espn.com/womens-college-basketball/rankings

[BAMABULL]

And we are back at #25 in College Sports Madness . Better yet NCAA rpi now #22.