Villanova, PA (Dec. 7, 2006) ? The University of South Florida women's basketball team looked for a little d?j? vu tonight in its BIG EAST opener at Villanova. Exactly one year ago, the Bulls faced No. 11/13 DePaul in both schools' inaugural BIG EAST lid lifter at the Sun Dome. USF would stun the nationally ranked Blue Demons 79-77 in overtime to set the stage for the Bulls' most successful season ever.
The Bulls enjoyed that feeling again, albeit not against a Top 25 foe, with a 60-48 win over the Wildcats at the Pavilion, raising their record to 8-1 overall and 1-0 in the BIG EAST.
“What we needed to do was make Villanova play from behind,” said USF head coach Jose Fernandez. “Once we stepped up our defensive pressure we were able to get up and they had to play a little quicker which is our style.”
Both teams started off slowly with the Bulls shooting a dismal 23.1 percent from the field while the Wildcats (4-5, 0-1 BIG EAST) weren't much better hitting 25 percent of their shots from the floor through the first eight-plus minutes of the game.
Through the course of the first half, Villanova would use 50 percent shooting from behind the three-point arc to lead by as many as seven points, 21-14 with 5:52 left before the break. That would be Villanova's largest lead of the game as the Wildcats would take a two-point edge, 27-25, into the locker room at the intermission.
The beginning of the second half would prove to be just the opposite offensively for both schools. USF would jump out quickly in the final half hitting 50 percent of its shots while Villanova struggled at 16 percent.
After Nova's Lisa Karcic hit for three of her eight points, the Bulls would use a 21-0 run which was led by All-America and National Player of the Year candidate Jessica Dickson (Ocala, FL). Dickson would account for seven of her team's points during that stretch. In addition to Dickson, Rachael Sheats (Marietta, GA) would add six points, four rebounds and a steal in the second half to help secure the win.
USF would extend its lead to a game-high 19 points (52-33) with 6:40 left in the game on a lay-up by Porche Grant (Oxon Hills, MD). The Wildcats would cut the lead to 10 points (54-44) with 3:40 left in the game but would not get any closer.
Dickson would finish the game with game highs of 16 points and 12 rebounds while Shantia Grace (Sarasota, FL) would finish with 11 points and Sheats 10 points. Dickson's double-double is the first of the season and the seventh of her career.
The win, which is the third straight conference opening win for the Bulls, also brings Fernandez to within one win of tying Trudi Lacy for the all-time lead in career coaching wins at USF, and two from becoming the school's all-time leader.
The Bulls will be back in action on Sunday, Dec. 17 at 3 p.m. when they face No. 11/11 Vanderbilt at the St. Pete Times Forum. The contest will b e the first game of a women's and men's doubleheader with defending national champions Florida taking on Florida A&M at 6 p.m. The game can be heard live in the Tampa Bay area on 860 AM WGUL with Tom Krasniqi calling the action.
