University of South Florida
Yale
Bulls End 2007 With A Bang
December 30, 2007 | Women's Basketball
TAMPA, Fla. ? Shantia Grace became the 16th player in University of South Florida women's basketball history to reach 1,000 career points when she poured in a career-high 30 points, and Jazmine Sepulveda added a career-best 26 points in a 105-71 drubbing of Yale today at the Sun Dome.
“This has to be the best game that Shantia and Jaz (Jazmine Sepulveda) have played together,” said USF head coach Fernandez. “I think that Jaz shot the ball well, she got in the passing lane and got steals. I called Shantia over right before she hit the three for her 1,000th point and told her that we were going to run a high ball screen for her and for her to take the shot. She did and she hit it. They both played extremely well.”
The win extends the Bulls' winning streak to eight games and improves their record to 10-2 on the year heading into their final non-conference game of the season at No. 20/21 Vanderbilt on Jan. 2 at 8 p.m. (ET). USF's current eight-game winning stretch is the longest under Fernandez and the second longest in program history.
The Bulls and Yale (2-7) found themselves in a dogfight for the first eight minutes of the game. USF would get out to an eight-point lead on a lay-up by Gianna Messina with 11:45 left in the first half. The Bulldogs however would use a 7-0 run to cut the lead to one-point, 22-21, on a three-point play by Mady Gobrecht with 9:29 left in the half.
That would be as close as Yale would get the rest of the day as the Bulls would eventually get the lead back to six points, 29-23, on a three-point play by Grace with 8:05 left on the clock.
After taking a 17-point lead, 43-26, on the heals of a 12-1 run from 7:57 left to 4:43 remaining in the half, USF would eventually take a 47-39 lead into the locker room at the intermission.
The Bulls would come out in the second half looking for blood and certainly found it outscoring the Bulldogs 58-32 in the final stanza marking the sixth most scored in a single half in school history.
USF would shoot an impressive 66.7 percent (20-30) in the final stanza and 57.1 percent (4-7) from behind the three-point arc.
The Bulls would eventually extend its lead to as many as 37 points, 100-63, on a trey by Grace ? the shot that she scored her 1,000-career point on ? with 4:13 left in the game.
“During the first half I don't think that we played all that well defensively giving up so many points (39 points), it almost looked like we were still on Christmas break,” said Fernandez. “But after halftime I think that our kids came out with a lot more energy and enthusiasm and intensity.”
On the afternoon, USF shot 57.4 percent (39-68) from the field and 43.8 percent (7-16) from three-point range in the win. The Bulls also dominated the inside outscoring Yale 64-24 in the paint.
In addition to Grace and Sepulveda, Jessica Lawson added 14 points and 10 rebounds marking her fifth career double-double and the fourth as a member of the Bulls.
ChiChi Okpaleke also chipped in with 13 points in a winning effort.
Following USF's trip to Nashville to face Vanderbilt on Wednesday, the Bulls will return home to the Sun Dome for their BIG EAST Conference opener on Saturday, Jan. 5 at 7 p.m.
Wednesday's game with the Commodores can be heard live on 1010 Sports WQYK AM with Charlie Slowes handling the play-by-play.
Postgame Notes
- USF scored 100 points in a game for the first time since Dec. 19 2005 when it poured in 121 points (121-41) against the UPR-Mayaguez in the San Juan Shootout ... Prior to today, the last time the Bulls scored 100 points against a Division I school was on Nov. 24, 2001 when they defeated Savannah State 101-47.
- USF's 105 points are the fourth most scored in a single game in school history.
- For just the second time this season everyone that saw time in a game scored at least one point. The last time that happened this season was in the opener against Bethune-Cookman on Nov. 13.
- The Bulls last had two 20-point scorers in a game on Jan. 28, 2007 at Syracuse when Nalini Miller scored 23 points and Shantia Grace chipped in with 22 points.
