Bulls Clinch No. 2 seed in The American tournament, defeat Houston

[Brad]

USF ATHLETICS GoUSFBulls.com

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

DATE: February 21, 2018

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Bulls Clinch No. 2 seed in The American tournament, defeat Houston

In a dramatic first half, USF used a 17-0 run to dispose of Houston at the Sun Dome

 

TAMPA, FEB. 21, 2018 – No. 17 USF defeated Houston, 81-65, Wednesday night and clinched the No. 2 seed in the American Athletic Conference Tournament. The Bulls utilized a suffocating 17-0 run at the end of the first half to spark their third 80-point outing in six games.

 

USF (23-5, 12-2 The American) took the first quarter to adjust to a wild Cougars (20-8, 9-5) team. Down five at the end of the first quarter, the Bulls went to work. USF chipped away at a Houston lead of 10 points and a jumper byKitija Laksa (Riga, Latvia) sparked a burst of offense in the final three minutes of the half. The Bulls made three of their five first-half three-pointers in the final minutes and carried a 42-33 lead into the break.

 

The hot-streak extended into the second half, as USF stretched its run to 21-0, forcing a Houston timeout. The Bulls never looked back. Laksa finished with 32 points while Maria Jespersen (Arhus, Denmark) added 19 points and 11 rebounds. Jespersen collected her 16^th double-double of the season in the first 20 minutes with 13 points and 11 boards.

 

Laia Flores (Mataro, Spain) distributed 11 of the team’s 16 assists and added seven points and five rebounds. The senior only committed two turnovers. Laura Ferreira (Lisboa, Portugal) remained constant in her defensive prowess and collected nine rebounds, two blocks and two steals. The redshirt-junior also added five points and four assists.

 

Quotable

Head coach Jose Fernandez's thoughts on Houston:

“Give credit to Houston, they are a tough team to prepare for. Everything they do on the defensive end: jump between man-to-man, 1-2-2 zone, corner court, trapping in the half court, they make you do things you’re not used to seeing in practice. It’s hard to mimic that many variations. I thought we needed to do a great job of keeping them in front of us and defending the arc.”

 

Head coach Jose Fernandez's keys to the game: 

We told our team, we need to play through their physicality and play through fouls. Houston averages 24-25 fouls per game. We had to meet passes and play through that physicality. We closed the half and came out into the first three, four minutes of the third quarter, that was good to see. Us getting to the line and making our free throws was huge.”

Key Stats
45 – The Bulls out-rebounded Houston 45-36.

27 – USF converted 27-of-31 free throw attempts.

26 – The Bulls scored 26 points in the paint and limited Houston to just 18. 

Notable

• Jespersen’s 16 double-doubles lead The American and the senior has recorded a #DenmarkDouble in each of the Bulls last four games. Jespersen has turned in double-double performances in 8 of her last 10 outings.
• Laksa has scored 30-points in back-to-back games for the first time in her career. The junior has collected 12, 30-point performances in her three years, including five this season. 
• Flores’ 11 assists are a season high, which she has reached five times this season.
• The Bulls are 12-1 at home this season, including a 6-1 record at home in The American. Since 2014, the Bulls are 50-9 at the Sun Dome. USF boasts a 27-6 all-time record in The American at the Dome.
• USF has outrebounded its opponents in its last eight outings.

[chapelbull]

Number 2 seed?  Fire Fernandez!

[Brad]

Highlights of the debacle:

 

But does he take responsibility?

Have players quit on him already?

 

[DELdaBull]

What a game!!!!! It was so exciting. Flores was out there dropping dimes and Laksa was dropping bombs. Jesperson and Ferreira were great in their ways. 

Sundome was rocking!!!!!!

[Apis Bull]

I'll wait to hear from NAS before I know if it were a good game or not.

[CousinRicky]

2 hours ago, DELdaBull said:

What a game!!!!! It was so exciting. Flores was out there dropping dimes and Laksa was dropping bombs. Jesperson and Ferreira were great in their ways. 

Sundome was rocking!!!!!!

I was actually proud of our fans.  It was almost as if they knew the team needed a lift and after the media timeout in the 2nd quarter it was as loud as the Ohio State game.  Our team fed off of it and Houston started to feel some pressure and their shots weren't even close in that stretch.  It was a blast.  A new guy has joined the Bulls Club staff and saw him at halftime briefly.  He seemed impressed with the atmosphere.

One comment on the officiating.  One of Houston's girls carried the ball almost every time.  I mean, put your hand on the bottom of the ball and turn it over kind of carrying. Not, maybe its on the bottom half of the side of the ball carrying, but out and out carrying. Didn't get called once. 

[DELdaBull]

10 minutes ago, Bourbon Bull said:

I was actually proud of our fans.  It was almost as if they knew the team needed a lift and after the media timeout in the 2nd quarter it was as loud as the Ohio State game.  Our team fed off of it and Houston started to feel some pressure and their shots weren't even close in that stretch.  It was a blast.  A new guy has joined the Bulls Club staff and saw him at halftime briefly.  He seemed impressed with the atmosphere.

One comment on the officiating.  One of Houston's girls carried the ball almost every time.  I mean, put your hand on the bottom of the ball and turn it over kind of carrying. Not, maybe its on the bottom half of the side of the ball carrying, but out and out carrying. Didn't get called once. 

I saw that. I want to say it was number 3. Their PG had stupid range. She was shooting for 4 and 5 feet behind the 3 point line and burying them.  

[Mike Stuben]

It is so disappointing to only have 23 wins with a potential of 5 more games before selection day. Fire everyone! 

On a serious note, I believe the record for wins in a season is 27. Very reasonable to hope to have 26 wins going into the Tournament. 

Houston played with lots of heart, but not much discipline. 2 T's, and we ended the first half on a 17-0 run and they never called 1 timeout during that run. (opened the second half on a mini run too, when it hit 21-0 they called one). I would have loved to sit behind their bench to try to egg on their coach. 

[BDYZR]

Two games in a row that I have come home hoarse from yelling at the refs. On a good note though, I think the girls are getting a little tougher from playing back to back games against that type of aggressive defenses.

[CousinRicky]

1 hour ago, Mike Stuben said:

It is so disappointing to only have 23 wins with a potential of 5 more games before selection day. Fire everyone! 

On a serious note, I believe the record for wins in a season is 27. Very reasonable to hope to have 26 wins going into the Tournament. 

Houston played with lots of heart, but not much discipline. 2 T's, and we ended the first half on a 17-0 run and they never called 1 timeout during that run. (opened the second half on a mini run too, when it hit 21-0 they called one). I would have loved to sit behind their bench to try to egg on their coach. 

In their coach's defense, that was a horrible call.  Laura tripped herself up and the ref called a foul.  Houston's player wasn't within a yard.  Of course they made up for it toward the end of the game when they called a foul on Kit when the Houston player was shooting a 3.  Kit didn't get close to her.  She leaned forward and then backed away. 

And I was wondering the same thing on the timeouts.  Trying to save them for the tournament?  Don't think it will work that way.