TAMPA, JAN. 14, 2018 – USF held the Knights to their second-lowest point total of the season, Sunday, as the women's basketball team ran away with a 62-45 victory at the Sun Dome. The Bulls took sole possession of second place in the American Athletic Conference standings with the win.
 
In a true team win, USF (14-4, 4-1 The American) had balanced scoring with three players in double figures, led by Kitija Laksa (Riga, Latvia) with 16 points. Laia Flores (Mataro, Spain) and Maria Jespersen (Arhus, Denmark) added 14 and 13 respectively and each added seven rebounds. The Bulls had six players with at least five rebounds.
 
The Bulls dominated the glass, outrebounding UCF (11-7, 3-2 The American) 48-30. The team's 48 rebounds included 17 offensive rebounds. USF scored 18 points off of second chance opportunities. USF's defense shined, holding UCF to single digits in both the first and second quarters and only held the Knights to a 34 percent field goal percentage on the day.

Quotable
USF head coach Jose Fernandez on the team's defense:
"Our players defended. We played really good team defense and held them to one shot and out. Second half wasn't a very pretty basketball game either way, but again, we held them to 14 points in the third quarter."
 
"We wanted to defend the dribble, keep them in front of us and do a great job on the glass."

Key Stats
20 – The Bulls scored 20 points off turnovers. The Bulls' eight steals were the second most this season.
17 – USF grabbed 17 offensive rebounds and held UCF to just six.

Notable

• The Bulls improved to 7-1 at the Sun Dome this season.
• USF collected three points in the War on I-4 rivalry series. UCF leads the all-sports series 21-12. The Bulls will have a chance to sweep the women's basketball series 6-0 at UCF Feb. 18
• Since 2014, USF has compiled a 45-9 record at home, including a 23-6 record in The American.

Up Next
USF begins a two-game road swing Jan. 17. The Bulls travel to Memphis Wednesday before taking their first trip to Wichita State Jan. 21. USF returns to the Sun Dome Jan. 28 when it hosts Temple at 12 p.m.
 
About USF Women's Basketball
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USF notched its fifth consecutive 20-win season. The Bulls tallied its 20th win in their 24th contest of the season which tied the fastest any program has reached 20 wins. This is the eighth 20-win season in program history and head coach Jose Fernandez has been at the helm for all eight 20-win seasons. The 2014-15 team reached 20 wins in 24 games, and still currently holds the best record for most wins in a season (27).
 
USF has made 13 postseason tournament appearances and had five NCAA Tournament berths in Head Coach Jose Fernandez's 17 seasons. The all-time winningest coach in program history, Fernandez has guided USF to eight 20-win seasons, two WNIT final four appearances, the 2009 WNIT championship and won more than 300 games.
– #GoBulls –