Washington, DC (February 28, 2006) ? The University of South Florida women's basketball team ended its regular season tonight the way it did in the majority of the 29 games played this season ? with a victory. The Bulls defeated Georgetown tonight 71-57 ending the regular season with a 19-10 record and a 9-7 slate in the BIG EAST Conference.
USF's nine league wins ties the school record for conference wins in a season equaling the mark set last year (9-5) in the teams last year in Conference USA.
The Bulls would fall behind early, however would take the lead for the first time, 19-18, with 12:10 left in the first half on a Jessica Jackson (Roswell, GA) three-pointer.
USF would not trail the rest of the first half in back of 15 points from All-America candidate Jessica Dickson (Ocala, FL) and 12 points from Jackson. The Bulls would take a 42-35 lead into the locker room at the intermission.
USF would come out in the second half with its most defensive intensity of the night extending its lead to, 11 points, 46-35 on a lay up by Nalini Miller (Capital Heights, MD) with 18:05 left in the game.
The Hoyas would cut the USF lead to one-point 54-53 with 13:12 left in the game before going scoreless for nearly seven minutes. The Bulls would blow the game open with a 12-0 run stretching from the 13:12 mark to 6:21 left in the contest when Georgetown's Kristin Heidloff go the Hoyas back on the board with a jumper making the score 69-55. Georgetown however would never get any closer.
Dickson would lead the way for USF in the scoring column with 22 points while Jackson would pour in a career high 21 points in the win. Jackson's went 7-12 from the field and 6-11 from three-point range. Her six trey's ties a school single game record.
Miller would add 11 points on the night.
The Bulls will now head the BIG EAST Conference Tournament as the No. 7 seed when they will face Notre Dame, who is seeded 10th, in the first round on Saturday, Feb. 4 at 6 p.m. The winner will get the No. 2 seed Connecticut on Sunday at 6 p.m.
USF defeated the Fighting Irish in overtime, 68-64, on Jan. 28 in South Bend.
