Fort Myers, Fla. – The University of South Florida women's basketball team had its season come to an end tonight with a heartbreaking 67-65 loss to Florida Gulf Coast University in the first round of the Women's National Invitation Tournament at in front of a raucous 2,742 at Alico Arena.
The Bulls, who finish the season 16-16, found themselves in a dog-fight right from the beginning of the game. After leading 6-5 through the first 4:15 the Eagles would use a 21-10 run to take their biggest lead of the game 26-16 with 2:50 left in the half.
USF, however, would close the final two and a half minutes of the first stanza on a 5-0 run to cut the FGCU lead to five points, 26-21, at the break.
Although the Bulls would shoot 33.3 percent from the field in the first half – considerably better than the Eagles' 27.3 percent – they would get basically nothing from its starting backcourt of Shantia Grace and Jazmine Sepulveda who were just a combined 3-16 from the field with three turnovers. Grace would finish the first half with just seven points
Florida Gulf Coast came out in the second half using a 6-0 run to make the score 32-21 before Grace hit a runner to get USF back on the board with 17:44 left in the game.
The Bulls would then put together their own run – a 26-17 stretch – to get back into the game and tie the contest at 49-all when Grace converted a three-point play with 6:20 left in the contest.
USF would then take its first lead since, its 6-5 edge in the first half, when Sepulveda hit a lay-up with 1:06 left to give it a 62-61 edge.
Delia De Le Torre would then put the nail in the Bulls' season with a three-point play on a lay-up and a made free throw to make the score 64-62 with 47 seconds remaining.
The Eagles would hit three-out-of three from the charity stripe the rest of the way to ice the win, despite a Grace desperation three from mid-court at the buzzer to cut the final margin to two points.
Grace, who was a second-team All-BIG EAST selection this year, showed precisely why. After netting just seven points in the first half, she would finish the contest one point shy of tying her career-high with 34 points.
Grace also finishes the season with 593 points which is the third most in a single season for the Bulls.
Porche Grant had another big outing with 11 points and 11 rebounds. It was her third straight double figure rebounding outing and her second career double-double.
