On a More Positive Note....

[Bullumni]

from the USF Athletic Site: http://gobulls.usf.edu/Sports/News.asp?i=2002&s=Basketball

USF Women Get 66-56 Win Over UMBC For Fourth Straight Victory

Tampa, FL (November 26, 2005) – The University of South Florida women’s basketball team faced its first tough test of the season this afternoon in the opening round of the Best Western Roundball Classic. The Bulls (4-0), who entered the game defeating their opposition by an average of 32 points per contest, earned a hard fought 66-56 win over the University of Maryland-Baltimore County (2-1) in back of a season high 33 points from All-America candidate Jessica Dickson (Ocala, FL), the BIG EAST Conference’s leading scorer.

The win extends the Bulls’ winning streak to four games which is the longest since season opening streak USF went 7-0 to start the 2001-02 campaign.

USF will now face Robert Morris at 2 p.m. on Sunday for the title of the Classic. The Colonials were 66-57 winners over Loyola (IL) in the first game of the afternoon.

The Bulls found out quickly that they would be in for a fight early on. The two teams went back and forth with neither leading by more than four points during the first half. UMBC looked to get the first big break at the end of the first stanza, and seemed to carry the momentum into the locker room when the Retrievers’ Sharri Rohde hit a mid-court shot as the buzzer sounded to cut the USF lead from four points to one (29-28).

The two teams would continue to go toe-to-toe during the second half until Dickson decided to take over with 4:54 left in the contest. With the two teams tied for the 10th time in the game, Dickson drained a three-point shot and was fouled by Rohde in the process. Dickson would go to the line and convert the four-point play. During the final 4:54 Dickson would tally 11 of her 33 points to put the game out of reach, all while the Bulls put together a 13-3 run during that stretch to close out the game.

USF only shot 37.7 percent (26-69) from the field while UMBC hit for 42.9 percent (21-49). The Bulls, however, forced the Retrievers into 21 turnovers on the afternoon which led to 22 points.

In addition to Dickson, who also tallied a season high 10 rebounds, was joined by Nalini Miller (Capital Heights, MD) and Ezria Parsons (Bushnell, FL) in the double figure scoring column with 15 and 11 points respectively. Parsons also shared rebounding honors with Dickson grabbing 10 in the win.

For the second time this season, however, the Bulls left the floor with a bittersweet taste in their mouths after a win. Just 1:33 into the contest Rachael Sheats (Marietta, GA) would leave the game with a right knee injury. The extent of the injury will not be known until further evaluation.

In USF’s first exhibition game of the preseason, against EA Sports on Nov. 9, Tristen Webb (Stone Mountain, GA) went down with a torn anterior cruciate ligament in her right knee ending her season.

“We got our best player the ball in the second half and she made plays,†said USF head coach Jose Fernandez. “We put her in the position to make shots and she made the baskets. But here we go again, another possible knee injury. I mean we won’t know until Tuesday.â€Â

“They’re a good team (UMBC) they make you defend, they spread the floor, and they run good stuff offensively. We were not shooting the ball well and it became a half-court game, but we squeaked out with a win, and right now, we’re going to have to find ways to win with eight kids and three of them being freshman.

USF will face Robert Morris at 2 p.m. Sunday in the championship game of the Best Western Roundball Classic. Loyola (IL) and UMBC will face off in the consolation game at noon.

For ticket information please call the USF athletic ticket office at 1-800-GoBulls.

USF Post Game Notes

- USF’s win over UMBC in the Sun Dome is its seventh straight win on its home floor dating back to last year … In addition the Bulls are 18-2 on their home turf since the beginning of the 2004-05 season and 22-2 since defeating No. 18 TCU, 89-84, in double overtime on Feb. 2, 2004.

- Jessica Dickson’s 33 points marked her third 30-point game of her career and the first since Feb. 26, 2005 when she tallied 34 against UAB … It was her third consecutive game of 20 or more points this season.

- Her point total against UMBC was also Dickson’s third straight 20-plus point game and the 26th of her career … She has tallied double figures in 57 of 65 games, and 20-plus in 29 of the 57.

- Dickson has hit 14 straight free throws since the season opener … She was 5-5 against the Retrievers, 6-6 against Jacksonville on Nov. 23, and hit her last three shots from the charity stripe against Texas-Arlington in the season opener on Nov. 19.

- Dickson started in her 65th consecutive game this since arriving at USF.

- Dickson’s 33-point, 10-rebound double-double is her first double-double since an 18-point, 11-rebound effort against Saint Louis on Jan. 21, 2005 … It was also her fourth career double-double.

- Dickson’s 40 minutes played was the 11th time in her career that she has played 40 or more minutes, and the 33rd time in her 65 collegiate games that she has logged 35-plus minutes.

- Nalini Miller’s 15 points marks the second straight time this year that she had double figures, and the third time this year.

- Miller’s two blocked shots marks the fourth straight game she has had a rejection … She currently has 89 career blocked shots, which is second all-time on USF’s career list.

- Ezria Parsons’ 11 points is her third straight double figure scoring game of the year.

- Parsons’ 11 points and 10 rebounds mark’s the sixth double-double of her career.

Looks like the Lady Bulls are once again for REAL and deserves to have a LARGE CROWD at the games.  Lets hope that this season will see them consistently in the top 25.!!!