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CANCUN, Mexico ? The University of South Florida women's basketball team extended its winning streak to seven games today with a 74-55 win over Belmont in the Bulls final game of the Caribbean Classic at the Moon Palace Resort and Convention Center.
USF's current seven-game winning streak equals its longest winning streak under Bulls' head coach Jose Fernandez originally set when it started the 2001-02 and 2006-07 campaigns with seven consecutive victories. In addition, the Bulls improve their record in games outside the Continental United States to 5-0 under Fernandez.
“I was a little disappointed with the way we played in the first half,” said Fernandez. “We had seven turnovers and we weren't getting the second chance shots that we needed to. We allowed them to dictate the play in the paint. But in the end these were two games where we have gotten better defensively. In the end, I was just really happy with how things here in Cancun turned out. Theses two wins over Oregon and Belmont were very good for our program.”
After going up 5-0 just 1:30 into the game, USF (9-2) would watch the Bruins go on an 8-0 run to take a slight 8-5 advantage with 16:52 on the clock. The Bulls would then fight through a three-plus minute stretch without a field goal in the first half going from the 16:31 mark to 12:44 of the first half without hitting a shot from the field before Brittany Denson scored her first basket as a Bull with 11:38 left in the half on a 12-foot jumper to make the score 13-11.
USF would then take advantage of a 15-5 run from 11:26 to 7:48 before the intermission to open the game up and take its biggest lead of the first half, 28-16, on two of Shantia Grace's 18 points.
Belmont would cut the lead to eight with 1:17 left, but the Bulls would eventually take a 36-26 advantage into the locker room at the break.
USF came out in the second half and blow the game open from the start. The Bulls would quickly increase its lead to 17 points, 45-28, just four minutes into the final stanza.
Grace would then take over scoring 10 of USF's next 12 points from the 14:02 mark to 8:21 left in the game.
Jessica Lawson apparently felt left out because she would then score the next six points over a four possession stretch going 4-4 from the line and hitting a field goal.
The Bulls would increase their lead to a game-high 21 points, 74-53, before the final whistle.
Lawson had another big outing scoring 19 points on 7-9 shooting from the field, 1-1 from behind the three-point arc ? the first of her career ? and 4-4 from the charity stripe. She also added a team-high seven rebounds in the win.
In addition to Grace's 18 points she also added four steals and two assists in 35 minutes.
Denson had a solid outing in just her second game with USF, finishing with 16 points on 5-9 from the field and 6-7 from the line. She also ended up with six rebounds in 21 minutes. Gianna Messina would round out the double figure scorers with 11 points.
“It was nice to see Brittany Denson out on the floor,” said Fernandez. “She brings a whole new dynamic to out team. Our team's make-up has a different look with her in the paint.”
The Bulls would finish the night hitting 44.6 percent (25-56) from the field and a season-high 85.7 percent (18-21) from the free throw line. It was USF's first time this season hitting for better than 68 percent from the charity stripe.
The Bulls will get some time off for the holidays before returning to action in the Sun Dome on Sunday, Dec. 30 at 2 p.m. against Yale.
