TAMPA, Fla. (Nov. 5, 2006) ? The University of South Florida women's basketball team beat the Hollywood/Miami Sun, 101-54, in the only exhibition game of the 2006-07 season Sunday night at The Corral.
All-America and National Player of the Year candidate Jessica Dickson (Ocala, Fla.) led the Bulls with 16 points, including one trey, in 15 minutes on the hardwood. Dickson added four rebounds, three blocks, two assists and two steals to USF's offensive attack.
The Bulls opened the game with an early 6-2 lead, but the Sun fought to stay in the game, keeping the score within seven points for the first 10 minutes of the contest.
With 16:18 left on the clock in the first half, Dickson hit a jumper to make the advantage 17-14, and the Bulls never looked back, making a 12-0 run in the next three minutes.
The Bulls doubled the Suns' score by the half, leading 56-28, while draining 57.9 percent of their shots.
USF outscored the Suns 45-26 in the second period, including five three-pointers, two from Shantia Grace (Sarasota, Fla.) and Daiane Packer (Jundiai, Brazil) and one from Caitlyn Mitryk (Lake Mary, Fla).
“When you look at the amount of minutes that our starters played, none of them played more than 27 minutes,” said USF Head Coach Jose Fernandez. “I think tonight it was evident just how much depth we have. The big thing in these games is to get everybody some quality time, to get quality shots and to shoot the ball well. I think we shared the ball well tonight and were very unselfish. I just can't wait until we throw the ball up for good on Friday night against Wisconsin-Milwaukee.”
Six players recorded double-digit points while freshman Stephanie Sarosi (Mims, Fla.) registered a double-double with 13 boards and 10 rebounds. Senior Rachael Sheats (Marietta, Ga.) and Packer each added 14 points for the Bulls, as Packer hit 4-of-7 from long range.
The Bulls hit 50.7 percent of their shots (38-75), 44.8 percent from behind the arc (13-29).
Suns guard Tombi Bell led all scorers with 21 points, hitting 10-of-11 from the charity stripe.
The Bulls open the regular season Friday, Nov. 10 against Wisconsin-Milwaukee at 7 p.m. in the Sun Dome.
The Bulls are coming off the most memorable season in the program's history. USF finished with a 19-12 record and a 9-7 slate in their first year in the BIG EAST Conference. In addition, the Bulls advanced to their first-ever NCAA Tournament earning a No. 9 seed in the Bridgeport Region. They faced the No. 8 seed USC in the first round in Norfolk, Va., losing to the Women of Troy 67-65.
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