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Zebold: LAKSA, BULLS RUN PAST ECU IN SECOND HALF


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WBB: LAKSA, BULLS RUN PAST ECU IN SECOND HALF

 

By TOM ZEBOLD

USF Senior Writer

 

GREENVILLE, N.C., FEB. 8, 2017 – Kitija Laksascored 18 of her 34 points in the second half to lead a late surge by the No. 22 Bulls in a 76-66 comeback victory over East Carolina at Minges Coliseum.

 

USF (19-4, 8-2) grabbed the lead late in the third quarter and never looked back, scoring 39 points in the second half to complete the regular season sweep of ECU (10-14, 1-10).

 

Laksa finished four points shy of her career high while going 14-for-22 from the field and 4-for-8 from long range. USF shot 51 percent overall after getting the boost it needed from starting point guard Laia Flores (Spain), who battled through an injury after missing the first half.

 

Junior Maria Jespersen (Denmark) scored nine of her 16 points in the second half. Freshman Tamara Henshaw(Palm Coast, Fla.) posted the third double-double of her career with 11 points and 10 rebounds.

ECU led for 16 minutes of the first half and headed into the break with a 39-37 advantage. The Pirates started with a 19-13 rebounding edge that led to 11 second-chance points.

 

The Bulls’ offense bounced back quickly from the loss to Memphis by shooting 50 percent from the field in the opening half. Laksa knocked down seven of her first 12 shots to get up to 16 points by the break.

USF used a 10-0 run to seize the momentum late in the third quarter, grabbing a 54-52 lead on a Jespersen layup with 1:23 remaining. Laksa scored 10 points in the quarter and her jumper pumped the advantage up to 56-52 heading into the final period.

ECU cut a six-point deficit in half in the first two minutes of the fourth, but the Bulls pulled away in their best road victory ever in Greenville. USF improved to 3-3 at ECU and had never won by more than seven in the series away from Tampa.

 

Quotables

Head coach Jose Fernandez on the impact of having Laia Flores in the second half:

“That just shows how tough that kid is. She wanted to give it a go and did a great job… We’re a different team without Laia Flores on the floor and we saw that today.”

 

Key Stats

31-for-60 -- USF shot 51.7 percent from the field and outscored ECU, 39-27, in the second half.

17 – The number of assisted totaled by USF, compared to only 10 turnovers committed by the Bulls.

15 – USF scored 15 points off 16 takeaways while ECU struggled down the stretch, shooting 37 percent in the second half.

 

Notables

- USF played four of its past five games on the road, finishing the stretch with a 4-1 record.

- USF is one victory away from its fifth consecutive 20-win season and the ninth in program history.

Kitija Laksa scored at least 30 points for the fifth time this season and the seventh time of her career.

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Laksa was so efficient

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9 hours ago, DELdaBull said:

Laksa was so efficient

That was so good to see.  Hope that breaks her out of her shooting woes.  Without Flores in the first half they did a good job of hanging in there.  The defense in the first half looked horrific.  Not sure how many lay ups ECU had but it seemed like way too many.

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2 hours ago, Bourbon Bull said:

That was so good to see.  Hope that breaks her out of her shooting woes.  Without Flores in the first half they did a good job of hanging in there.  The defense in the first half looked horrific.  Not sure how many lay ups ECU had but it seemed like way too many.

Didn't get to watch the last couple of games :( but it seems to me Laksa is most efficient when we run the drive-n-dish. She likes to shoot unobstructed from the perimeter, so we should make sure she gets that. On the drive, if someone holds back to guard her, that opens the lane for the layup. Was this what was working for her against ECU?

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3 minutes ago, charsibb said:

Didn't get to watch the last couple of games :( but it seems to me Laksa is most efficient when we run the drive-n-dish. She likes to shoot unobstructed from the perimeter, so we should make sure she gets that. On the drive, if someone holds back to guard her, that opens the lane for the layup. Was this what was working for her against ECU?

Actually she had to shoot off the dribble more times that we've seen and made some of those shots.  A couple looked like "floaters" as she drove toward the bucket.  But ECU played zone for quite a while and she was able to have some open shots from 3 as well.  She really is streaky.  She gets down on herself when the first few don't go in.  But she made some early last night and she went on a tear.

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So the trick is to make sure she's wide open for her first few shots or pass it elsewhere?

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14 minutes ago, charsibb said:

So the trick is to make sure she's wide open for her first few shots or pass it elsewhere?

Actually I think her first basket was a pull up jumper.  But I could be wrong and Ned will be happy to point that out if I am.

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