Final Stats PDF | HTML | 2008-09 Season Stats   1 2 F USF 31 40 71 Texas Tech 29 32 61 Stat Comparison USF Texas Tech Points 71 61 FG Made-Attempted 21-57 22-49 FG Percentage 36.8% 44.9% 3 FG Made-Attempted 6-19 6-11 3 FG Percentage 31.6% 54.5% FT Made-Attempted 23-29 11-19 FT Percentage 79.3% 54.5% Rebounds 33 38 Turnovers 14 27 USF Stat Leaders   Texas Tech Stat Leaders

Denson

ST. THOMAS, U.S. Virgin Islands – The University of South Florida women's basketball team came to the Virgin Islands to compete in the Paradise Jam and try to make a name for itself against some pretty tough competition. Well the Bulls certainly established themselves a possible force to be reckoned with once BIG EAST Conference action begins in January and took another step tonight with an impressive 71-61 win over Texas Tech in its final game of the three-day event in St. Thomas. USF leaves the island tomorrow with a 2-1 record with wins over Iowa – the reigning Big Ten Conference champions – last night and the Red Raiders tonight.

Shantia Grace came off her 27-point performance last night to lead the Bulls in scoring against Texas Tech with 15 points, while Porche Grant and Janae Stokes each added 13 points in the victory. Brittany Denson chipped in with 12 points.

“This was a tremendous win for our basketball team,” said USF head coach Jose Fernandez. “We had a very successful trip here to the Paradise Jam and couldn't be more thrilled with us coming out with a 2-1 record. Now we need to keep the intensity up when we get back to Tampa and get ready for Florida International on Friday night and then we take a week off for exams.”

USF (6-1), who led for all of the first half except for three ties and two times when the Red Raiders (4-3) took one point leads, would lead by as many as five in the first stanza but could not shake Texas Tech. The Bulls would take a 31-29 lead into the locker room at the intermission.

In the second half, the Red Raiders would take what would be, at that time, their largest lead of the game, three points (37-34) on a Dominic Seals jumper with 16:14 remaining in the contest.

Sepulveda would immediately get the lead back, 38-37, hitting a driving lay up with 14:47 left, and then Grant stole the inbounds pass and hit a lay up with 14:44 left to give USF a three –point advantage, 40-37.

The Bulls pushed the lead to five points, 43-38, on a three-pointer by Stokes with 13:47 remaining.

Texas Tech, however, would score 16 of the next 23 points to take it's biggest lead of the evening, 54-50, on shot from behind the arc from Keisha Walker with 8:08 left.

USF may have bent but they would not break, closing the final eight minutes of the contest on a 21-7 run to put the game out of reach.

On the night, the Red Raiders shot 44.9 percent (22-49) from the field and 54.5 percent (6-11) from behind the three-point arc, while the Bulls were just 36.8 percent (21-57) from the floor and 31.6 percent (6-19) from three-point range. One area that USF did shine in on the offensive end of the floor was the free throw line hitting 79.3 percent (23-29) of its shots.

With that said, the Bulls solely won this game on the defensive end of the floor. For the sixth time in its seven games this season, USF forced its opposition into more than 26 turnovers, as the Red Raiders recorded 27 miscues on the night which led to 25 points.

Also, becoming the anchor of the Bulls' defense is Denson. For the third straight night here in St. Thomas, the senior forward etched her name in the event's record book with six rejections to tie the Paradise Jam single game blocked shot record which she set on Thursday night against California. In addition, her 16 blocks in the events three games shatters the previous mark of nine set by Laura Harper of Maryland and Candace Parker of Tennessee.    

Following their return to Tampa, the Bulla will have a week to prepare for their match-up with Florida International on Friday, Dec. 5 at 7 p.m. in the Sun Dome. The game can be heard live in 1010 AM CBS Sports Radio with Garrett Walvoord calling all the action and former USF men's standout Andrikk Frazier providing color commentary. Fans can also access the game via the internet by logging onto GoUSFBulls.com and selecting the BullVision Premium option.