Bulls Claim All Six Points in War on I-4, Down UCF 77-68

[Brad]

USF ATHLETICS GoUSFBulls.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
DATE: February 18, 2018
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Bulls Claim All Six Points in War on I-4, Down UCF 77-68
No. 22/21 USF defeats UCF 77-68 in overtime thriller.

ORLANDO, FEB. 18, 2018 – Kitija Laksa and Maria Jespersen combined for 53 points Sunday in an overtime thriller at UCF. The Bulls swept the series against the Knights after a 77-68 win at CFE Arena. USF claimed all six points in the War on I-4 series. 

USF (22-5, 11-2 The American) clinched its seventh straight victory in dramatic fashion. The Bulls gained a two-game cushion over third place UCF (17-9, 9-4 The American) in American Athletic Conference standings. 

With under two minutes remaining in regulation, Kitija Laksa (Riga, Latvia) sunk a three-pointer from the top of the key to tie the game at 57. In the next possession, Maria Jespersen (Arhus, Denmark) gave the Bulls a three-point lead, their first since UCF went on an 11-0 run earlier in the quarter. The Knights tied the game with 11 seconds left, forcing the Bulls’ into overtime. 

The extra period belonged to the Bulls. USF shot 60 percent from the floor and 50 percent from long range in final five minutes. Laia Flores (Mataro, Spain) scored five of her eight points in overtime, including a dagger with one minute to play. 

Laksa finished with a game-high 32 points and Jespersen followed with 21. Jespersen grabbed a game-high 15 rebounds in her 15th double-double this season. Laura Ferreira (Lisboa, Portugal) had a solid outing with eight points, six rebounds, four assists and two steals. 

Key Stats
15 – USF scored 15 points in overtime and held UCF to just six points. 
3 – The Bulls defense forced three UCF turnovers in overtime. 

Notable
•    The Bulls have won seven-straight games, their longest streak of the year. 
•    USF remains perfect against the Knights in Orlando since 1980. The Bulls improved their series record to 27-9. USF has won 21 of the last 22 meetings.  
•    Kitija Laksa has netted four 30-point outings this season, 11 in her career.  
•    USF improved to 8-2 on the road this season. 
•    USF has outrebounded its opponents in its last seven outings. 
 
Up Next
USF will return to the Sun Dome Wednesday when it hosts Houston at 7 p.m.  
 

[DontPushMe]

We have a very good consistent women's team. Why can't we put  together a competent men's program? 

[charsibb]

5 hours ago, DontPushMe said:

We have a very good consistent women's team. Why can't we put  together a competent men's program? 

Sexist IBG.

 

[BAMABULL]

College Sports Madness now has us ranked #17 and a #5 seed.

[BAMABULL]

And the AP now has us at #18.

[bullsfan27]

If we win out except the uconn games could we get to the 4 line with a strong showing against uconn or would that be out of the realm of possibilities 

[BullyPulpit]

The women rise to #18 in the nation. Really makes you regret blowing the lead late to Oklahoma and losing at Wichita State. We would likely be in the #10 to 12 range if we were 24-3 right now with a great chance of hosting the first two rounds. At this point, we have to take case of business at home against Houston and Cincy. We beat Cincy on the road by 23, so that game, on Senior Night, doesn't concern me too much.  Houston on the other hand is a solid squad that has only 1 "bad" conference loss to Tulsa. If we can beat them by 15+ and dispatch of Cincy by 20+ I will have a good feeling about this squad heading into the tournaments. 

[CousinRicky]

2 hours ago, BullyPulpit said:

The women rise to #18 in the nation. Really makes you regret blowing the lead late to Oklahoma and losing at Wichita State. We would likely be in the #10 to 12 range if we were 24-3 right now with a great chance of hosting the first two rounds. At this point, we have to take case of business at home against Houston and Cincy. We beat Cincy on the road by 23, so that game, on Senior Night, doesn't concern me too much.  Houston on the other hand is a solid squad that has only 1 "bad" conference loss to Tulsa. If we can beat them by 15+ and dispatch of Cincy by 20+ I will have a good feeling about this squad heading into the tournaments. 

This team is only as good or bad as the next shooting hot streak or cold spell.

[BullyPulpit]

On 2/19/2018 at 5:33 PM, Bourbon Bull said:

This team is only as good or bad as the next shooting hot streak or cold spell.

One win down, one to go. Got the 15+ point victory over Houston that I wanted to see. The 17-0 run to end the first half proved to be the difference. Wish we had started off better, but we closed out strong and played great defense and physical basketball over the last 25 minutes. 

Now we need to beat Cincy by 20+ (preferably 30+) and go up to Storrs and make the Huskies sweat.