|
1 |
2 |
OT |
F |
|
St. John's |
42 |
28 |
1 |
71 |
|
USF |
37 |
33 |
11 |
81 |
| Stat Comparison |
USF |
STJ |
| Points |
81 |
71 |
| FG Made-Attempted |
25-62 |
23-58 |
| FG Percentage |
40.3% |
39.7% |
| 3 FG Made-Attempted |
6-23 |
7-15 |
| 3 FG Percentage |
26.1% |
46.7% |
| FT Made-Attempted |
25-36 |
18-28 |
| FT Percentage |
69.4% |
64.3% |
| Rebounds |
42 |
42 |
| Assists/Turnovers |
16-15 |
11/20 |
|
USF Stat Leaders |
|
STJ Stat Leaders |
|
Lawson |
19 |
Points |
McLean |
30 |
|
Grant |
11 |
Rebounds |
Hart |
9 |
|
Sepulveda |
9 |
Assists |
Lindsay |
2 |
|
Sepulveda |
4 |
Steals |
Stevens |
2 |
|
Denson |
5 |
Blocks |
Two Players |
1 |
| |
TAMPA, Fla. - The University of South Florida women's basketball team earned its first BIG EAST win of the season by defeating St Johns 81-71 in an overtime nail biter in the Sun Dome tonight. The win brings the Bulls to 14-3 on the season and 1-2 in BIG EAST play. St Johns is now 13-2 on the season and 1-1 in the BIG EAST.
The two team's came out of the locker room and went toe-to-toe for most of the first half with neither team leading by more than six points for the first 12:10 of the game.
The Red Storm would make the first move ? albeit a small one ? pushing the lead to as many as nine points twice, at 30-21 with 7:11 left in the half and at 41-32 with 1:58 left before the intermission.
Jazmine Sepulveda would record a steal and lay-up to cut the lead to seven, 41-34 with 43 seconds left in the first. After Monique McLean hit the second of two free throws to give the Red Storm an eight-point lead, Jana Stokes would hit, what would be arguable her biggest shot of her short USF career, draining a three-pointer with 13 seconds left to cut the St. John's lead to five 42-37 at the break. The trey was the first for Stokes since Dec. 30 at Tulane who, up until her three at that point, was 0-17 from behind the arc.
USF tried to come out of the locker room for the second half and capitalize of the momentum that Stokes gave them at the end of the first, but St. John's never bent despite the Bulls cutting the lead to two points, 42-40, on a three by Sepulveda with 19:20 left and then later in the half as USF cut the lead to three, 53-50, off a steal by Porche Grant and a lay-up by Jasmine Wynne with 12:16 left in regulation.
The Bulls would then take its first lead since the 13:16 mark of the first half when Brittany Denson hit a short jumper to give them the lead, 57-55, with 9:12 left in regulation.
The two teams would exchange the lead for the next five-plus minutes before USF would seemingly take control of the game leading by six points, 68-62, on a jumper shot by Jessica Lawson with 2:19 left.
The Red Storm, however would have none of that, closing regulation on an 8-2 run, tying the game at 70-all on two free throws by McLean with 1.4 seconds left on the clock.
The Bulls had one last opportunity before the buzzer when Shantia Grace banked a midcourt shot from the sideline, falling out of bounds, off the rim.
USF came out in the extra session and took control holding St. John's to no field goals and outscoring the Red Storm 11-1 en route to the win behind six points from Lawson in overtime.
The Bulls placed four players in double figures led by Lawson's 19 points. Stokes would finish the game with 17 points while Sepulveda and Grace finished with 13 and 10 points respectively.
Sepulveda tied her career-high with nine assists and Grant grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds in the win.
The Red Storm had three players in double digits led by McLean with a game-high 30 points, including 17 in the first half, and Centhya Hart and Da'Shena Stevens who netted 12 and 10 points respectively. Hart also had eight rebounds.
USF will return to action on Wednesday night, at 7 p.m., with another key BIG EAST Conference match-up against No. 10/12 Louisville.
USF-St. John's Postgame Notes
? USF raises evens its all-time series record against St. John's to 2-2 and to 2-0 in the Sun Dome.
? USF snapped its short two game losing streak.
? Janae Stokes got her first career start for the Bulls in place of Ashley Sanders ... Stokes finished the game with a team-high 17 points after scoring six points in the past two games.
? Porche Grant recorded her 13th career double-digit rebound game, and the fifth this season, with her 11 boards ... In addition, it was her second double-figure rebounding game in her last four games.
? Tonight's overtime win improves the Bulls' all-time record in extra session games to 17-10 and 2-0 this season ... USF's last overtime game came earlier this season when it defeated Iowa, in the second game of the Paradise Jam in St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands, 82-79.
? In addition, USF is 10-3 in overtime games under Jose Fernandez and it has won its last seven extra session games.
