USF 68 #21 Notre Dame 64 (OT)

[TyBull]

Way to go ladies.........

[TyBull]

USF WOMEN

USF Women Shock No. 21 Notre Dame

By TOM COYNE The Associated Press

Published: Jan 29, 2006

SOUTH - BEND, Ind. - The tears of Notre Dame coach Muffet McGraw in the postgame news conference showed how much the overtime loss to South Florida hurt.

The 21st-ranked Irish fell behind by 15 points, battled back to take the lead in the second half before losing 68-64 to South Florida on Saturday.

"We just don't have the offensive power we need," McGraw said. "I think we have people that are capable of it, but they're just not doing it."

The Irish (12-7, 3-5 Big East) - ranked as high as No. 10 after winning their first six games - are likely to fall out of the rankings for the first time since the start of the 2004-05 season following their sixth loss in nine games.

The Irish appeared as though they might hold on when Megan Duffy hit a pair of free throws with 24 seconds left for a 58-55 lead.

The Bulls (14-7, 4-4), who moved ahead of the Irish in the league standings, wanted the nation's leading scorer, Jessica Dickson, to take the shot to try to tie it. But with Dickson covered, she passed to Ezria Parsons.

Parsons, who was 2-for-11 from 3-point range this season, hit a 3-pointer with 2 seconds left to force the overtime.

Then Jessica Jackson hit a key 3-pointer with 2:12 left in overtime to give the Bulls a 65-62 lead.

"She's been in and out of the doghouse all year," South Florida coach Jose Fernandez said. "She's been far deep in there because she struggled defensively. I thought this was a game that could really show some of her offensive skills."

Notre Dame cut the lead to a point on a fastbreak layup by Charel Allen. But Dickson, who scored 13 of her 18 points after halftime, hit a pair of free throws with 20 seconds left for a 67-64 lead.

Duffy, who led Notre Dame with 25 points, had a chance to tie it, but she put up an air ball from 3-point range with 3 seconds left.

Dickson, who had a season-low six points against Connecticut on Tuesday, said she only scored five in the first half because her teammates were playing so well.

"In the first half I didn't play well. I took it upon myself to do whatever it is I have to do to help us win," Dickson said. "It's all about determination and I think I just came out determined."

Jackson finished with 12 points and Nalini Miller had 10 points and seven rebounds for South Florida. The Bulls had a 48-42 edge in rebounds. Lindsay Schrader had 12 points for Notre Dame and Allen added 10.

South Florida enjoyed its second overtime victory against a ranked team this season. The Bulls beat then-No. 11 DePaul 79-77 on Dec. 7.

The loss left McGraw searching.

"The upperclassmen just put a tremendous burden on Megan to do it all. We thought Courtney [LaVere] would be a scorer for us. It's just been really disappointing with the way our posts have been playing right now. We just cannot score," she said.

McGraw said she's thinking about making lineup changes.

"I think we just have to go with our youth and start preparing for the future. That's probably what we should do. Obviously aside from Megan we've got to find somebody who can help us," she said. "Somebody has to step up and have a big game."

[TyBull]

[Guest AstroBull]

#1 looks wicked scared

[bigbull]

I was at the game and I think the game will be the turning point of the season....Many others stepped up and had huge games like Jessica Jackson who had to run point the last 13 minutes of the game after Tia and Rach fouled out....Nalini got some touches inside and Chi Chi played very hard a day after hurting her ankle in practice and spending the rest of the night on crutches....Huge game Tuesday night against Villanova

[bulls96go]

what about the center (football player's sister) is she here yet?

[pdiddybull32]

Sarosi wont be here till next season when this team will be even scarier! Go Bulls!

[Velcro]

winning that game after having 2 key players foul out early is quite impressive!

[bigbull]

Jessica Jackson stepped up last night which will be huge